The Fire Within
by Txstate1992
Summary: Ariana Brighton was a normal American wizard whose world is flipped upside down after the murder of her father. A new Dark Lord is rising and the only info that the Ministry has is that he is one of their own. Who could it be and how is Ariana connected? *****CURRENTLY BEING EDITED AND REWRITTEN*******
1. Saying Goodbye Has Never Been So Easy

**Hey y'all! So, I know what you're thinking... "_Why is she posting a chapter for a story she's already finished? Why is there only one chapter?"_**

**Well, dear readers, that is because, after finishing Fighting the Fire, I felt that this story and Burning Bright could use some improvements! Soooo, in an attempt to do just that, I will be editing both stories! That will include adding new chapters, editing old ones, lengthening old ones, etc.**

**So, if you see old chapters being posted again, this is why! I hope this will not be too inconvenient for y'all and I hope y'all enjoy what _I_ believe to be improvements. Just bear with me. please! I'll try not to deviate from the original chapters too much, I promise! :)**

**Saying Goodbye has Never Been so Easy**

I hesitantly look around to make sure this current park is empty, smiling slightly when I realize that, except for a few butterflies and native forest creatures, the park is complete mine. I love this park. It is almost completely surrounded by a forest of trees and bushes and, staggered throughout the forest, are flowers of all colors; deep reds, vibrant blues, and beautiful yellows and oranges; all mixing together to emit an enchanting smell that is so intoxicating it's like a drug all its own. Flitting around above, racing through the high leaves and branches of the tall trees around me, were all kinds of small birds, each chirping excitedly as the soar above. Through the trees I can barely see the Rocky Mountains and smile, it being one of my favorite things about living in Colorado.

The sun shines through the top of the trees, casting a sort of green light down on the small place I'm sitting. The summer breeze blows lightly through the branches, swirling around the smell of the flowers into a relaxing aroma that causes a sigh of contentment to escape from my mouth.

I exhale heavily and lean against one of the tall trees that border the park before closing my eyes and intently listen to the calming sounds of nature while thinking of everything that had just ensued, being sure to replay every single event in an attempt to truly figure out what's just happened.

"_ARIANA BRIGHTON!"_

"_Coming!" I yell as I tuck my wand behind my ear and sigh, mentally preparing myself for the imminent reprimanding that's to come. I exit my bedroom and quietly shut the door behind me before breathing out another sigh and descending the stairs. As I step onto the floor tiles of the main floor, I can see the man that has called for me, his arms crossed tersely across his chest and his eyebrows furrowed together angrily as his brown eyes eagerly search for something or someone to direct that anger toward. "Yes, father?"_

_The man who raised me, my "father", turns his angry gaze toward me, a sneer forming on his face when he realizes he's found his target. "Was that __**magic**__ I heard coming from your room?"_

_I roll my eyes and cross my arms, shifting my weight onto one of my legs as I say, "Really? That's your leading line? Look, if you've got something to say then say it."_

_His eyes narrow ever so slightly as he takes a step toward me and points a finger at me. "You watch your tone with me, girl, or I __**will**__ make you regret it."_

_I roll my eyes once again and exhale loudly before saying, "Have I actually done anything wrong or is this another attempt to-"_

"_You've done nothing wrong-"_

_I can't help but laugh quietly. "That's a first..."_

"_- BUT I did have a reason for calling you down here. I want to let you know that I'll be having some friends over later. __**Dangerous friends.**__ So it'd be smart for you to make yourself scarce." I can't help but give him a curious look, hoping maybe this is his way of showing me that he's changing his ways and becoming a semi-decent father. However, as if reading my thoughts, he quickly shakes his head and sneers as he adds, "Oh, don't mistake this warning as 'caring', I simply don't want you ruining this for me. In fact, just leave now."_

_I scoff at him, crossing my arms tighter against my chest. "And if I don't __**want**__ to leave now?"_

_My father sneers at me as if this were the answer he had been anticipating and hoping for. "Either you leave now or I lock you in your room now and let my 'friends' deal with you when they get here."_

"_Mom would never allow you to do this... Ever since she... disappeared... you've been completely horrible."_

_He lets out a humorless laugh. "Why can't you just say dead? We both know she's dead, you more so than anyone else. Why do you refuse to acknowledge her death?"_

_I scowl at him, removing my wand from behind my ear and placing it in my back pocket, and clench my teeth together angrily before silently leaving the house, making sure I slam the door as hard as I can as I go._

"_Oh, hello Ariana! Have you heard from your mother? Do you know when she'll be coming back?"_

_I glance over at my neighbor, the elderly Mrs. Johnson, who is quickly pulling out weeds from her front lawn, and shake my head tersely. "As I told you yesterday, Mrs. Johnson, she won't be coming back. Thank you for constantly reminding me of that fact though."_

_I continue past Mrs. Johnson and ignore the look of sadness on her face as I go by, quietly muttering so that only I can hear. "She won't ever be coming back..."_

I reopen my eyes and look around at my surroundings again, silently appreciating the seclusion of where I am as I blink back the tears I haven't allowed myself to cry since I was young.

_What am I going to do about my situation?_ I think as I watch the birds flying above me, imagining I could fly away with them. _Maybe I'll go live with Brittany and her family in New York... We are best friends, and her mother and brother do love me... Plus I would still be allowed to attend Salem School for Witchcraft and Wizardry... AND I'll be away from my father... I don't see a down side..._

My decision made, I push myself up from the ground and dust off my pants before exiting my hiding place and rejoining society. My determination to leave becomes more and more concrete with each step I take, my memories of my life with my father being the driving factor. As I go, one thought continues to cross my mind: _One day he'll pay for what he's done..._

How true that was, though I had no idea that day would be so soon...

**Okay guys! I hope y'all found this to be better than the old chapter! I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out so far!**

**Let me know what you think with a review! :)**

**Thanks!**

**-Tx :)**


	2. Tragic Beginnings

**Alright, here's the edited chapter two. I added a lot more details and changed a few things around. I hope y'all think the changes I made make the story better! :)**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to do this for chapter 1, but I'm not JK Rowling, therefore I do not own Harry Potter or the characters from the story. I only own the plot to this story and the original characters. :)**

**Tragic Beginnings**

As I get closer to my house, Mrs. Johnson waves to me and, once again, asks me when my mom will be coming home. Rather than humor her with another answer, I ignore her and continue walking, shaking my head as I approach the front door of my house. _Her memory is getting worse... Or maybe she just enjoys bringing up sore subjects repeatedl-_

The moment my fingers touch the door knob the ground beneath me shakes and I'm shot backward into the street as a loud explosion destroys the house I'd spent my entire life living.

My ears are ringing, making it impossible to hear anything around me, my arms and legs sting outrageously from having skidded cross the asphalt, my head hurts horribly from hitting it on the road and I'm pretty sure there is a bleeding cut on my forehead, but somehow I manage to find my wand and get up from the street, slowly making my way toward the remains of my house, though I don't make it far before falling back to my hands and knees again.

As I look around for anyone who can help, I see three hooded figures hurriedly rounding a street corner before disappearing from sight. Though I find the behavior strange, my thoughts are interrupted when my hearing begins to return and I can faintly hear Mrs. Johnson sobbing. I place my wand in my back pocket then put all my focus into standing up again. Once up, my focus shifts from standing to moving my feet forward one step at a time, my head spinning with each step I take.

Finally I've made my way to an inconsolable Mrs. Johnson and, though I've gotten a bit of my hearing back, there is still a slight ringing in my ears making it hard to understand what she's saying. So, instead, I pat Mrs. Johnson on the shoulder and say, "Call 911," before raking the back of my hand across the cut on my forehead and rushing into the house.

The moment I enter the burning building my vision is clouded by thick, black smoke. I pull out my wand before entering the wall of smoke, hurriedly looking around for any signs of my father. I open my mouth to yell for him and inhale a mouthful of smoke. I stumble through the house coughing and choking, my eyes stinging the further I get into the house. Falling bits of burning debris fall on me and burn my exposed flesh as I continue through the house, my watering eyes hastily searching for any signs of life.

I hear something move to my left and I abruptly spin in that direction, the sound of anything other than ringing and burning startling me, and smack my already injured forehead on a fallen beam. _Ugh that's going to hurt tomorrow…_

I duck under the fallen beam just as fresh blood oozes from the cut on my forehead and slowly drips down my face. I wipe away the trickle of blood and look around for the source of the movement, refusing to accept the thought that the noise was nothing more than the sound of the previous beam falling. The moment I look to my right, I see a mass lying on the ground. I rush over to the mass and crouch down next to it, immediately recognizing it as my father. I place my fingers on his neck and check for a pulse but I give up instantly, deciding this would be a job best done outside so, I grab his arm and begin dragging his burned body from the now collapsing building.

I pull my father outside just as the fire trucks, ambulances and police arrive on the scene. The moment paramedics see us, they rush over to us and pull my father out of my grasp, another paramedic guiding me over to a separate ambulance from my father and handing me an oxygen mask.

I gratefully accept the oxygen, holding the mask firmly on my face and taking in deep breaths of the fresh, clean oxygen. The more oxygen I breathe in, the less fuzzy my head becomes and the more I begin to feel every injury I received during this experience, from the coagulated cut on my forehead to the tiniest burns on my ankles. I look at the place where my house used to be and watch the dark black plumes of smoke rise up into the sky, contrasting heavily against the calm blue, and shake my head, confused as to how any of this happened.

The paramedic who took my father away walks over to me with a glum expression on his face though, before he can say anything, I ask, "He's dead, isn't he? My father. Dead?"

The paramedic nods once before being called away to check on Mrs. Johnson and other neighbors. The paramedic who gave me the oxygen mask drapes a bright orange blanket around my shoulders, sighing when I push it off of me. He replaces the blanket and walks away just as a police officer walks over to talk to me. Before he can say anything, I remove the oxygen mask from my face and angrily ask, "What is this? Why does he keep putting a blanket on me?"

The officer glances at the blanket before saying, "You're in shock."

I shake my head, standing up and facing the officer. "I'm not in shock..."

The officer begins speaking but my focus is set on something else. A very old, baby blue car sits parked at a house few feet away; though it's not the car that holds my attention. Leaning against the car are two men, one tall with bright red hair and the other with dark hair and round glasses.

The man with the dark hair nods once, a silent call toward him. I look around, confused as to who he is referring to, and raising an eyebrow curiously when I realize he means me. I clear my throat before looking at the officer, who is still talking, and say, "Sorry, I really must be going."

A look of shock crosses the officer's face as he says, "But I have questions that need to be answered... You're not free to leave!"

"Can't the questions wait? I just need to go talk to some... _family_ and explain what's just happened. I'll be right back." When I see that he's about to protest, I let out a loud, dramatic sigh and gesture to the blanket around my shoulders. "I'm in shock. See? I have a blanket! Just let me go..."

The officer's face turns a bright shade of red as I push past him, not waiting for his answer, and walk toward the two mysterious men. As I get closer, I can't help but think that it's a really bad idea for me to be going toward these two strangers. Wouldn't the right thing to do be talking to the police, telling them all I know so they can figure out what's happened? In reality, I know almost as much as the police do, maybe even less, so I don't see how I could really be of any help... I can always turn back though, right?

"Ariana Brighton?"

I look up at the man who said my name, the one with the dark hair and glasses, and nod hesitantly. "Who are you?"

The man doesn't answer; he simply opens one of the car doors and says, "Mrs. Brighton, I'm going to need you to come with us."

I look into the car, checking for any sort of threat before crawling in and plopping down in the back seat before I let out a sigh and think: _Nope, definitely no turning back now..._

**What'd y'all think? Let me know! haha**

**PS: Props to whoever can recognize my tribute to one of my favorite BBC shows and to some Mofftiss brilliance. :)**

**Thanks!**

**-TX :)**


	3. Dangerous Liaisons and Good Intentions

**Disclaimer: I'm still not JK Rowling so I still dont own Harry Potter or its characters.**

**Dangerous Liaisons and Unwanted Answers**

As the car pulls away from the curb and begins down the road, I turn around and manage one last look at my old house. I know I shouldn't really be feeling so sentimental about it, the place was basically my own personal Hell for almost eleven years, but I can't help but feel a pang of sadness as the remains of my childhood slowly burn away. My attention, however, is pulled away from my old house when I see the officer who had been talking to me now chasing the car I'm in, his gun pulled as he yells something I cannot hear. After a few seconds, two police cars pull up behind him with their lights on, a third pulling up next to the running officer to pick him up.

"Ron, we need to find a place to get this off the ground and _fast_. We seem to have acquired some followers..." The dark haired man says while poking his head out the window and looking back.

The red haired man, Ron, groans as he presses his foot down on the gas pedal. "I'm going as fast as I can, Harry! If you think you can do better then go right ahead!"

I look at the two men frantically and say, "Er, while a car chase is _always_ fun, I have to ask... WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE AND WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?!"

The dark haired man, Harry, pushes his glasses up back up onto his nose where they were sliding down. "Oh, of course! I'm Harry Potter and this bloke here is my partner, Ron Weasley."

I raise a curious eyebrow and fight the smirk that threatens to spread on my face. Have I really just been kidnapped by a gay couple? "Partners?"

Ron's head angrily whips around and the steering wheel jerks to the side as he yells, "OI! I am _happily_ married to a _woman_, thank you very much! We're WORK partners! So wipe that smirk off your face!"

I hold my hands up in surrender and roll my eyes. "Alright, sorry! Geez..."

"RON!" Harry is turned around looking out the back window with wide eyes. "EITHER CLOAK US OR DRIVE FASTER!"

I turn to see what has him so panicked and gasp when I see that the police have almost caught up to us. I look back at Harry and say, "I'm risking possible jail time, so you two better have a good reason for this!"

Harry nods, his eyes fixed on the police behind us the entire time. "We're taking you into hiding."

"Hiding?!"

Harry nods again as he says, "You're in danger. Have you heard of the Ministry of Magic?"

"My father may have mentioned it once..." I say as the car takes a sharp left turn onto a very busy street. "Are they who I'm hiding from?"

He shakes his head with a smirk. "Not at all. Ron and I work for the Ministry as Aurors and we both worked with your father a bit. Did he ever tell you what he was working on?"

I let out a cynical laugh and shake my head. "The only thing he ever told me was that I was in the way. Why?"

"HARRY! I COULD USE SOME HELP!" Ron yells as he narrowly dodges a slow moving car.

Harry turns back around and says, "Find as abandoned a street as possible. I'll take care of our followers..."

I shake the orange "shock" blanket off my shoulders, forgetting until right now that I'd even still had it on, and say, "I can help!"

Ron glances back at me with a smirk and says, "Better leave it to the professionals. Just sit back and let Harry do what he does best."

I roll my eyes at the ignorant red head and pick up the orange blanket off the seat next to me before brandishing my wand. I lower my window and poke my head out, my singed blonde hair blowing around my face wildly, and drag the orange blanket out with me. Once I feel like everything is lined up perfectly, I unfold the blanket and release it toward the police cars behind us.

The blanket does exactly as I wanted, causing enough cover for me to pull out my wand and yell, "Immobulus!"

The sound of tires screeching fills the air as the other cop cars driving behind the frozen one are forced to slam on their brakes.

Harry also takes the opportunity to cast spells at the other two pursuing cop cars, causing them one to turn around hastily and the other to slam on his brakes. I pull my head back into the car and grin smugly at Ron, who is glancing at me in his rearview mirror.

Ron guides the car around a corner and messes with a silver button on the dash before flashing a successful smile at Harry and pulling back onto the road we had been on before. He begins looking around outside as he says, "We need to get back immediately... Think it's safe to take off?"

I see Harry nod but I still don't understand. "Take off?"

Harry turns, a grin on his face, as he says, "Oh yes. _Take off_..."

I look out my window and see the world getting smaller below me and I can feel my eyes getting wider in shock. "We're... We're _flying_?!" I look back at Harry, my mouth agape, and manage to ask, "How?"

Harry ignores my question and says, "Miss Brighton, do you have any immediate family that will need to know where you are or that you're safe?"

I shake my head slowly as I think of Brittany's family in New York. "No, there's no one left. My grandparents died a long time ago, and both of my parents were only children... Before, you said that I'm in danger? What sort of danger?"

He shakes his head and turns back around to face forward. "We'll talk about that more when we get to the Ministry. For now, you should get some rest. We've got a pretty long trip ahead of us..."

I can see that he's not going to answer any more of my questions so I lean my head against the door and close my eyes, immediately falling asleep when I do.

**So the old chapter 3 only had about 290 words in it, so I figured I could expand on it just a bit... haha**

**Let me know what you think about the chapter now! :)**

**Thanks**

**-TX :)**


	4. Unwanted Answers

**Unwanted Answers**

"_Miss Brighton_… _MISS BRIGHTON!_... **MISS BRIGHTON!**"

I slowly open my eyes and look around for who is calling me while also attempting to sneakily grab my wand. As I gaze around the room I catch sight of a small woman with mousy brown hair, bright blue eyes, and an awkward smile is standing by the door. "Ah, yes. Good to see you're awake, Miss Brighton."

"Where… where am I?" I ask, releasing my wand rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"You are at the Ministry of Magic my dear. Mr. Potter tells me you have some questions regarding your father. If you would follow me, I'm going to take you to meet with the Minister of Magic and I'm sure he'll be able to answer your questions." She grasps a clipboard tightly to her chest and taps her foot impatiently as she waits for me to get up from the couch I'm lying on.

I get up from the soft couch and stretch my arms high above my head, wincing when I stretch out a cut on my side. Once I've stretched out, I place my wand behind my ear and say, "Lead the way..."

The woman leads me down a dark, dank hallway into a big stone room with a man sitting at a big wooden desk. When the man behind the desk catches sight of me, he says, "Hello, you must be Miss Brighton. I am the Minister or Magic, though you can call me Gregory. You've been through quite a lot today, Miss Brighton... Would you care for something to drink? Would you care to sit down?"

Though I've only just met Gregory, his inability to stick to one topic makes me like him. I shake my head politely while sitting in a chair on the opposite side of his desk. "No drinks for me, thanks. But, if you don't mind me asking, what was my father involved in that's put me in such horrible danger that I'd need to go into hiding?"

Gregory nods solemnly as he waves the mousy woman out of the room. "Very well. Miss Brighton, your father was working undercover as a Death Eater to figure out what they were planning. We were-"

I hold up my finger, stopping him midsentence, and say, "_Death Eater_? What the _hell_ is a Death Eater?! And why was my father pretending to be one of them? What could he have possibly been researching?!"

Gregory ignores my questions and continues where he left off before I interrupted him. "-able to obtain some trivial information, but he was attacked before we learned what they were really planning. Apparently the Death Eaters were somehow tipped off that he was undercover... Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley here were supposed to rendezvous with him yesterday, before… well, before everything happened..."

I turn around and see that Harry and Ron are also in the room with us, both leaning against the door casually. I hadn't even known they were present in the room with us until Gregory pointed them out. I look at both Harry and Ron and ask, "What were _you two_ doing rendezvousing with someone as horrible as my father? You seem so nice!"

Ron raises an eyebrow at me and asks, "Miss Brighton, how old are you?"

"Fifteen..." I say hesitantly, not understanding what purpose his question serves.

He nods as he says, "As I thought... Every teenager thinks they have horrible parents. It's hard for them to see the bigger picture, especially when it comes to the actions of their parents. But it doesn't mean that the parents really are horrible, it just means that the child doesn't fully understand."

I narrow my eyes at Ron, ready to rip into him and introduce him to all the horrors from my childhood when Gregory clears his throat and says, "We were in the process of moving you two out here, for safety reasons of course, when the Death Eaters showed up at your house, and well, you know the rest."

I stare out the large window behind Gregory and sigh. "Why did you take me though? I'm nobody important. Why not just let whoever killed my father kill me as well? What's one more dead person?" I see Gregory glance at the men behind me before shifting uncomfortably. "Ahh... Oh you think I'll be able to give you more information... You think I'll be able to tell you the things my father couldn't..."

Gregory nods and says, "Well, yes, but-"

I shake my head and laugh cynically. "You _really_ think my father told me_ anything_ about what he did? I barely talked to the man! I was always in his way or doing something wrong! Why the _hell_ should he think to tell me about what he was up to? He _hated_ me!"

Gregory slams a hand on the table, shutting me up instantly. "Your father did not hate you! He made us agree that, should anything happen to him during this, we keep you alive and safe. He's convinced that you're a necessary part of their plan, whatever that may be! He even made Mr. Potter promise to let you live with him because he _knew_ living with an Auror would be the safest place for you!"

I hold up a finger again and scoff. "Hold on just a minute. You're telling me I'm going to be _living_ with someone I've only just met a few hours ago?!"

"Yes Miss Brighton, you will be living with Mr. Potter. You are in hiding, remember?"

"I'm not going to need to change the way I look or anything, am I?" I ask sarcastically, silently hoping the answer was no. I like the way I look I'm not gorgeous, but I'm not hideous either. I'm pretty small in stature, about 5'1 with strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes. I have lightly tanned skin, but that's from sitting out at the park.

Gregory chuckles lightly, and shakes his head. "No, Ariana, you will not need to change the way you look, though you should get your injuries looked at... Oh, before I forget! You will be enrolling at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for your fifth year. You'll be mailed you acceptance letter and inside it will be a list of the supplies you need." He glances at his watch and adds, "I do believe it's time for you to be going, Mr. Potter. We'll talk more later... Mr. Weasley, did you still need to speak to me privately?"

Ron nods and gestures for the Minister to follow him out into the hall. Once they're both gone, Harry clears his throat and says, "We will be travelling by floo to my house. Have you ever travelled by floo before?"

I shake my head, earning a chuckle from him. "Come over here to the fireplace and I'll show you. Do exactly as I do, and speak very clearly. Believe me; if you don't speak clearly you will regret it." He looks as though he's remembering something funny, but then snaps out of it almost immediately and grabs a handful of powder from a bowl on the mantle, steps into the fireplace and clearly says, "Potter Manor" as he throws the powder down into the fireplace.

Immediately, bright green flames engulf his body, surrounding him completely until he disappears from sight. After waiting a few moments, I hesitantly grab some powder and step into the fireplace. I stare at the powder in my hand and grimace at the thought that I might have to see any more fire today. Hadn't I seen enough? Couldn't we have just taken the flying car home? I shake my head and think: _Do it you big chicken! You've got nothing to be afraid of!_

I glance at the powder in my hand once again and release a sigh of defeat as I throw down the powder and firmly say, "Potter Manor."

The world turns neon green as the flames encircle my body. The flames remind me of the fire I'd just faced and I can feel myself beginning to panic. Before I have time to tell myself to calm down the flames subside and, instead, I see a person standing in front of me, though it's definitely not Harry.

"Hi! You must be Ariana!"

The boy looks to be about my age and has messy, black hair. His hazel eyes are staring intently at me and he has a crooked smile plastered on his face. He reaches up and runs his hand through his hair as he stares at me. As I open my mouth to respond, all the panic from earlier comes back and, instead of words leaving my mouth, all the contents from my stomach end up on the floor in front of his feet.

I catch the look of disgust on his face as I pull out my wand and quickly clean up the mess I've made. At this point, I figure there's no turning back so I wipe my mouth off, my cheeks completely red, and say, "Hi, yes I'm Ariana Brighton. You can call me Ari. Where is your bathroom?"

He manages a smirk as he points to a room a few feet away. I nod and say, "Alright, thanks. I'll try to head that way the next time I feel like puking... Who are you?"

A strange look crosses his face, a look of disgust; as if he's appalled that I don't know who he is. "I'm James. James Potter."

**Okay y'all! Here's the fourth chapter! I didnt change too much in this one, I just added a bit more detail. I hope y'all enjoy it! :)**

**Now I'm going to go get ready to go party at the river! Woo-hoo! haha I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow sometime, but I wont make any promises. :P**

**Thanks**

**-TX :)**


	5. New Faces and New Spaces

**New Faces and New Spaces**

Just as James introduces himself, Harry walks around the corner followed by a woman with fiery red hair and freckles on her smiling face. When she sees me her smile grows and she rushes over to me, extending a hand out to me. "Hello dear, I'm Ginny. I do believe you had the pleasure of meeting one of my brothers today... He was nice to you, wasn't he?"

Suddenly the red hair makes sense.

"He was a real peach..." I say grinning as I grab her hand and shake it. "I'm Ariana, but you can call me Ari."

Ginny squeezes my hand and smiles warmly as she says, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ari. I hope you'll make yourself at home here." She releases my hand and glances at James as she adds, "James, go get Albus, Lily and Teddy from upstairs please."

"But mum! I-" James protests, giving his mother an exasperated look though, once he catches sight of the stern look his mother is giving him, he clamps his mouth shut and hurriedly walks out of the room.

Once I'm alone with Harry and his wife, I smile politely and say, "While I appreciate you opening your home to me, I'm sure it's quite an inconvenience. I promise I'll be out of your hair as soon."

Harry and Ginny both shake their heads, though Harry is the one to speak up. "Ariana, it's really no inconvenience. I promised your father I would take care of you if anything happened to him, and I plan on keeping my promise."

I shake my head with a sigh. "No offense Mister Potter, but you really didn't know my father. You may _think_ you did, but you didn't... He never did _anything_ to look out for my well-being which is why I find his sudden need to take care of me a bit suspicious, So I'll be leaving before I can cause any real trouble."

Ginny raises an eyebrow at me and frowns. "You're a small teenage girl... How much trouble could you really cause?"

I open my mouth, wanting to tell her that I'm a fifteen year old girl orphan, both my parents murdered at different times in my life, and no legitimate family to turn to, however, above my head I hear what can only be described as a group of giants running around overhead. The noise gets closer, the booming footsteps getting louder, and three kids come sprinting down the stairs and join us in the living room.

Ginny laughs as a little girl, I'm assuming Lily, sprints at me and wraps herself around my waist. "I'm Lily," she says happily, "Who are you?"

Lily looks to be about 5 or 6 and she has red hair put in a single braid running down her back, green eyes, a large toothy smile and rather pale skin. I can't help but smile at her as I reply. "It's lovely to meet you, Lily. I'm Ariana, but you can call me Ari."

She releases my waist and grabs my hand, a large smile spread across her face. Then a boy who looks to be about my age introduces himself. He has brown hair, hazel eyes and is about 3 inches taller than me. "I'm Albus, It's nice to meet you Ari." He then turns and walks back up the stairs without saying anything else. Finally a boy with blue hair, who looks to be about 16 or 17 smiles politely and introduces himself as Teddy. I wave with a smile and realize that Lily is still holding my hand. Harry looks at Lily and says "Would you like to give her a tour of the place?"

Her face lights up at his suggestion as she looks up at me and asks, "Can I? Please?"

I nod, letting out a chuckle. She drags me to the front of the house and says "We'll start from the outside."

We walk out the front door and I immediately see a beautiful field full of vibrant flowers. It has butterflies flying through it and birds chirping and flying about it. It reminds me of my field back home and I can't help but feel myself getting sentimental. I force myself to look away from the field before I do anything I'll regret, like cry, and say to Lily, "What else is there?"

Lily grins, dragging me toward the back yard, only for me to see what looks like a giant soccer field except with three giant gold hoops on either end, the hoops vaguely resembling bubble wands. There are two boys on broomsticks flying around throwing a ball back and forth.

After watching the two boys for a bit, I turn and look at the house I will be staying in, realizing how truly gorgeous the house really is. It looks to be 3 stories tall with balconies encircling the house on all the levels. Its white in color but it has red trimming and the entire place is surrounded by a gigantic golden fence with a gate at the front. I can't help but think that the place resembles a castle.

We walk into the front door and she drags me into the foyer. The walls are full of moving pictures of the kids, of Harry and Ginny, of Harry, Ron, and a bushy haired brunette, etc. The picture that catches my eye though is of James in a red and gold uniform, holding a broom in one hand and small golden ball with fragile golden wings protruding from either side in his outstretched palm. The small wings are flapping unbelievable fast, but it remains in his palm. He has a gigantic grin on his face and his sandy blonde hair is standing up in all different directions, blowing lightly in the wind. As I stare at the picture, I can't help but ask, "What is this?"

Lily impatiently says, "Just James holding the snitch. Come _on_! I was giving you a tour, remember?" She tugs at my hand and leads me upstairs.

As we ascend the stairs, Ginny calls up to us, "Ari, you can sleep in the guest room, dear! It's on the third floor, across from James' room!"

Lily hastily leads me through her tour of the upstairs, he initial excitement clearly fading fast, finishing the tour at the room Ginny told me I would be staying in. I open the door to my room and see that the room is large, with a twin sized bed set against the back wall. The walls are a bare white, so I pull my wand from behind my ear and mutter a spell, changing them to a deep red that matches the color of the wildflowers in my field back home. I smile slightly and decide to explore. I start by looking in the closet, making note that it is the size of a small room itself. _This place is insane… _I think to myself.

The exploration of my room is interrupted when my stomach grumbles and I suddenly become aware that I haven't eaten since this morning and, everything that I _did_ eat at that time had been puked up when I arrived here. I tuck my wand back behind my ear again and exit my room, turning to walk downstairs and running straight into James. The surprise of the impact causes both of us to stumble backward, James falling onto the ground and me stumbling into the door behind me.

"OOF! Bloody watch where you're going!" James says with narrowed eyes as he rubs the arm he fell on.

I raise an eyebrow and outstretch a helping hand to him. "Sorry, it was an accident... Are you alright?"

Instead of accepting the help, he thrusts a large white envelope into my hand and says, "Mum sent me up here to give you your Hogwarts acceptance letter, so here."

I stare at the envelope in my hand, slowly sliding my fingers over the curvy calligraphy, and say, "Er, thanks..."

He lets out a huff as he gets up off the floor and walks down the stairs, leaving me alone in the hallway with my letter. Slowly, I slide my finger under the seal and life the flap, delicately pulling out the parchment inside so I can read it.

**Alright y'all! I would love to know what y'all think of the new story so far! I hope you like it and it doesn't vary from the old one too much! :)**

**And to those who haven't read this story yet, I would LOVE to know what y'all think of this so far! :)**

**Thanks!**

**-TX :)**


	6. It's all about Perspective

**It's All About Perspective**

I look up from the second page of my letter and say to James, "Where am I going to get this stuff?" When I see he is already heading downstairs, I run after him and loudly ask, "Wait, where are you going?"

He turns and rolls his eyes at my curiosity. "I'm off to play Quidditch. Why?"

"Um, what is '_Quidditch'_?" I ask, emphasizing the word Quidditch. _It sounds like a disease… "Oh dear… looks like I've got a bad case of Quidditch…" _I giggle at the thought.

He looks at me oddly and snorts, clearly amused by my lack of knowledge on the topic. "You've never heard of Quidditch? Do you not have a TV or did you come from under a rock?"

I roll my eyes, smirking a bit as I say, "Well, my rock was in America and, unfortunately, it didn't come with any sort of cable. Mind I watch? I could use distraction right now, even if it _is_ something as mundane as watching you."

He rolls his eyes in response, so I take it as a yes and follow him down the rest of the stairs. We walk out of the house, onto the field with the hoops I saw earlier, and I take a seat on a bench set up next to the field. I watch James march onto the field, snatching up a broom that leans against one of the posts, and take off into the air.

Once I'm finally alone, I look down at the burn marks that mar my arm, thinking about how they got there. I run a finger over one of the healing burns and wonder: why did I stupidly run into that burning building? It couldn't have been because I _cared_ about what happened to my dad... He certainly wouldn't have reciprocated the action if our situations had been reversed. It had to have been because, even though he was absolutely _horrible _to me, not even my father deserved to burn to death. He may have been a jerk, but he still was my father, and the only family I had left.

Almost immediately, a sudden but inevitable realization hits, causing me to tear up. I'm officially a fifteen year old orphan... I'm all alone with no family left, not even a distant cousin...

I angrily wipe my eyes with the heels of my hands and let out a sigh, the sigh turning to a loud scream when I see James zooming directly toward my head on his broom. When I see that he isn't slowing down, I scream again, dropping to the ground at the last moment and curling into a ball with my hands thrown over my head for protection.

I hear him zoom over me laughing loudly as he says, "Oh bloody brilliant! You should have seen your face!"

I get up off the ground, dusting off my jeans angrily as I coldly ask, "Can I _help_ you with something?"

**James' POV**

When dad came home and told us that we would be having some random girl stay with us for a bit, I'll admit I wasn't the happiest. Who the hell is this girl anyways? Why did she have to stay with us? It's not that we don't have the room, I just don't like the fact that dad won't tell me why she has to stay with _us_. I hate being kept in the dark...

I walk into the living room to pout when I see the green floo fire light up the fireplace. _Ugh she's here…_ I think before yelling out, "Dad! She's here!"

The bright green flame dies down and I finally see who our new house guest is going to be. As soon as I see her dirty face and singed hair, I know we are going to be best mates. She has the look of a trouble maker about her...

I feel a smile growing on my face as I say, "Hi! You must be Ariana!"

She looks up at me, her dirty face suddenly becoming pale. I nervously run a hand through my hair, raising an eyebrow when she opens her mouth to respond and, instead, vomits all over the floor of the lounge.

I watch her pull out her wand and quickly clean up the mess, her embarrassment with what she's just done clear. Once she's cleaned up the mess, she clumsily wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and says, "Hi, yes I'm Ariana Brighton. You can call me Ari. Where is your bathroom?"

_Isn't it a bit late to be looking for the loo? You've already vomited on the floor..._ I can't help but smirk as I point to the loo, which is only a few feet away.

She nods, still looking at the room I've just directed her toward as she says, "Alright, thanks. I'll try to head that way the next time I feel like puking... Who are you?"

_Did dad really not mention us to her? Does she really not know who I am? _"I'm James. James Potter." Just then my parents come strolling around the corner.

The moment my mum sees Ariana standing in the lounge, she rushes over to the girl and holds out a welcoming hand to her as she says, "Hello dear, I'm Ginny. I do believe you had the pleasure of meeting one of my brothers today... He was nice to you, wasn't he?"

Ariana smirks at mum as she accepts her outstretched hand and says, "He was a real peach... I'm Ariana, but you can call me Ari."

Her smile is intriguing. Both lips are full with a slightly pink color. When she smiles the corners of her mouth pull up, making her dimples show and her eyes gleam. I really want to ask what has happened to have made it so she has to stay with us but, before I can ask anything, mum looks over at me and says, "James, go get Albus, Lily and Teddy from upstairs please."

"But mum! I-" I clamp my mouth shut, my protest cut short when I see her don't-argue-with-me face. I quickly walk out of the room, taking the first flight of stairs two at a time, and open the first door in front of me. "AL!"

My younger brother looks up from the book in front of him, a look of indifference on his face. "You could have knocked you know... I'm studying..."

I roll my eyes, leaning against the doorframe of his room. "It's still summer, you twat! Why are you studying?! Are you sure you're a Slytherin and not a Ravenclaw?"

He rolls his eyes at me and slams his book shut and narrows his eyes at me. "Studying is all I can do right now, you tosser! I'm _grounded_, remember?! Now _what_ do you _want_?"

I smirk at him, my arms crossed as I say, "Our new house guest has arrived... Mum wants us all downstairs so we can meet her. Can you go get Lily and I'll go get Teddy?"

He nods, placing his book on his pillow and sliding off his bed. "Fine..."

"Oh! And did you want to practice after we've met her?"

He turns around, his face lighting up a bit at the question. "Sure..."

I smirk, following him up to the second floor and walking past him when he stops at the first door, Lily's door. I walk up to the second door and knock, knowing from past experiences that walking into Teddy's room without knocking is a bad decision, and wait for him to call me in.

Once I hear him give me permission, I open the door and say, "Mum wants us downstairs. The new houseguest is here and she wants us all to meet her."

Teddy nods, setting down his comic book and hops off his bed. "Okay. I'll be down in just a mo."

I nod and exit his room, stopping and turning back to ask, "Hey, Teddy, can you practice some drills with me and Al after you've met her?"

He nods with a grin. "Yeah, sure."

"Thanks." I say with a smile, turning back and leaving just as Al and Lily run out of her room. Lily has a large smile on her face as she jumps down each individual stair the entire way down. Al and Teddy rush down the stairs, both probably curious as to who our mysterious last minute guest is.

I get downstairs just as Al pushes past me and heads back upstairs, marching back into his room and slamming his door shut behind him. I roll my eyes and enter the lounge in time to hear Teddy introduce himself. I bump Teddy with my shoulder when dad recommends that Lily, who is grasping Ariana's hand tightly, give Ariana a tour of the house. He nods once, understanding what my shoulder bump meant.

When Ariana and Lily head outside, Teddy and I race up the stairs to go get our Quidditch gear on. I run up to my bedroom, which is on the third floor, and fling the door open excitedly. My room is large, with my walls covered in pictures from school of me and my friends and Quidditch posters. I quickly grab my broom then start towards the stairs, realizing when I get to the bottom that I've forgotten the practice snitch up in my room. I pass Teddy on the stairs and, when he gives me a curious look, I quickly tell him I'll be out shortly.

I rush into my room, flinging my door open so hard that it bounces off the wall noisily, and frantically search for the snitch. When I don't find it sitting out anywhere, I begin rummaging through my drawers, emptying the contents onto the floor in my hasty search.

After my search through the first four drawers is unsuccessful, I switch to searching my closet for the small, golden ball. My closet search lasts for at least ten minutes before I get smart and pull out my wand. "Accio practice snitch!"

The practice snitch flies out from under my bed and soars into my open palm. I let out a happy cheer and rush out of my room, skipping down the stairs two at a time. I rush through the lounge and into the kitchen, only to be stopped by my mum.

I let out an impatient groan as she hands me an envelope and says, "James, could you please give Ariana her Hogwarts acceptance letter?" I groan again and hold up the snitch in an attempt to let her know I already have plans. She gives me the don't-argue-with-me look again and points to the stairs before adding, "_Now_. She's on the third floor."

I huff angrily and march up the stairs, Ariana's letter clenched tightly in my hand. I stomp up the stairs all the way to the third floor and, just as I'm about to turn the corner to Ariana's room, she comes around the corner and runs directly into me, knocking me over.

"OOF! Bloody watch where you're going!" I say, rubbing my arm angrily.

She raises an eyebrow at me and reaches a hand down to help me. "Sorry, it was an accident... Are you alright?"

I ignore her hand and, instead, push the envelope I'm holding into her hand. "Mum sent me up here to give you your Hogwarts acceptance letter, so here."

She stares at the envelope in her hand with wide eyes as she runs a finger over the writing on the outside. "Er, thanks..."

I huff again as I push myself up off the floor and begin down the stairs. I can hear her say something, but I'm too far away to hear it clearly. Suddenly the stairway is filled with her loud voice. "Wait, where are you going?"

I turn, rolling my eyes at her ignorance as I say, "I'm off to play Quidditch . Why?"

"Um, what is '_Quidditch'_?" She asks, placing a strange amount of emphasis on the word Quidditch.

"You've never heard of Quidditch? Do you not have a TV or did you come from under a rock?" I ask with a sarcastic laugh.

She rolls her eyes, smirking as she says, "Well, my rock was in America and, unfortunately, it didn't come with any sort of cable. Mind I watch? I could use distraction right now, even if it _is_ something as mundane as watching you."

I roll my eyes in response, which she clearly takes as a yes and follows me down to the field and takes a seat on a bench next to the field.

I snatch my broom up from the first goal post its leaning against and quickly swing my legs over it, kicking angrily off the ground and soaring up into the air to join my brother and god brother.

"Where were you?!" Al demands loudly.

I release the snitch from my hand and quickly say to him and Teddy, "Bet you I catch the snitch before either of you!"

They both immediately accept my challenge with large grins as they race off in different directions to look for the small ball. I stay where I am and narrow my eyes as I search for the snitch, catching sight of it near the bench Ariana is sitting on. I hastily point my broom down in the direction of the bench and race toward it, my body hugging the broom in an attempt to make it go faster.

I've almost reached the snitch when I hear a loud scream. I look down and see Ariana looking at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. _She thinks I'm going to hit her..._

She screams again, dropping to the ground and curling into a ball with her hands thrown over her head protectively as I zoom overhead.

I pull my broom to an abrupt halt and can't stop the fit of laughter that bubbles up out of my mouth, "Oh bloody brilliant! You should have seen your face!"

When she realizes there isn't a threat, she gets up the ground and dusts herself off forcefully before angrily saying, "Can I _help_ you with something?"

**Here's an extra long chapter for you lovely readers! I hope you enjoy it! :)**

**I'll try to post again soon.**

**Thanks!**

**-Tx :)**


	7. Secrets (almost) Revealed

**Secrets (almost) Revealed**

**Ari's POV**

James continues to laugh so I let out a huff and storm away, back into the house to try and tend to my wounds and think in peace. I slam the back door behind me and angrily stomp up the stairs to my room on the third floor. Once inside my room, I glance at my bed and see that Ginny has left me some fresh clothes on my bed. I smile at the gesture then walk into the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror and looking at myself.

My blonde hair is singed in different spots, causing some parts of my shoulder length hair to lie higher than the rest. I then look at my forehead, grimacing at the scabbed over cut that lies just above my left eyebrow. I pull my wand out from behind my ear and wave it at the cut, muttering a nonsense spell, and frown when nothing happens.

My vision lowers to the rest of my face and I can't help but laugh when I see how dirty it still is. I quickly fill my hands with water from the sink and rub it on my face until the soot has been almost completely washed off. I look down at my hands and laugh again, realizing I'm simply going to have to shower to get _all_ the soot off my body.

I look at the clock on the wall and see that it's almost ten in the evening and decide I've got enough time to take a shower. I turn on the shower and quickly shed my clothes as I wait for the water to warm up. Once I feel that it's warm enough, I get into the shower, wincing when the water sprinkles down onto the multiple scrapes and burns that mark my body. I let the water fall over my head and face, running my fingers through my choppy, uneven hair until the water falling from it is no longer black with soot. I quickly scrub some shampoo through my hair twice, partially to make sure it's truly clean and partially because I'm trying to avoid having to wash the rest of my body.

Once I've hesitantly concluded that my hair is clean, I fill a shaky hand with soap and delicately begin cleaning the rest of my abrasions and burns. When I get to the large scrape that covers the left side of my body, I can't hold in the gasp of pain that escapes my lips as I rub soap over it, a painful throbbing coming from the abrasion.

I somehow manage to wash the rest of the soot from my body without hurting myself anymore and turn the water off, glad to be finished. I wrap my towel around myself and look at the clock as my stomach grumbles loudly, groaning when I realize that I'll have to sneak into the kitchen to get some food.

I quickly dry myself off and pull on the t-shirt and baggy pants that Ginny left me before putting my still wet hair into a braid and tuck my wand behind my ear before exiting the bathroom. I quietly exit my room and tiptoe down three flights of stairs to the kitchen, carefully peering into the room before entering. Once I feel the coast is clear, I stealthily walk into the kitchen and open the fridge, grabbing what looks like small chicken leg before heading back upstairs.

I get up to the first floor and walk by what I assume to be Harry's office, stopping abruptly and dropping the food in my hand when I hear talking. I quickly crouch down outside the door and slowly nudge it open, listening intently when the talking becomes clear.

The first voice I hear sounds familiar. It sounds like that red haired man who picked me up, Ron. "So they are there is a new Dark Lord then? Who is it?"

Suddenly, from behind me, I hear, "It's rude to eavesdrop, you know."

I spin around quickly, my hands clasped over my mouth in silent shock, only to find James and Albus standing behind me, both with smirks on their faces and arms crossed against their chest.

I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks, but I pull my index finger up to my lips and give them the silent gesture to be quiet before waving them down to join me. They nod in agreement and crouch down next to me to listen as well, Albus quietly whispering, "What's going on?"

When the office gets silent I whisper to them, "Your father is talking with Ron about there being a new Dark Lord and they're about to say who it is..."

**James POV**

I can't get myself to stop laughing at Ariana's facial expression when she thought I was going to crash into her... I wipe the tears from my eyes and reduce my laughter to snickers, watching Ariana angrily march into the house. I can't help but burst into another fit of laughter as I think, _I bet she won't talk about how boring watching me is ever again._

Once I get control of myself again, I turn my broom around and rise back up into the air. I haven't been on a broom for a while, and being back in the air again feels good. I look down and see that I'm about 100 feet in the air, with a cool breeze blowing around me. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, opening my eyes back up rising even higher to rejoin my competitors.

When Al sees me he sneers and holds up his hand, my practice snitch resting in his palm. "You losers ready to go again?"

Teddy sighs before saying, "You two go ahead... I'm done for the night."

I nod at him then glance at Al, grinning energetically as he releases the snitch and says, "We'll wait five seconds before searching for it. 5!"

I grip the handle of my broom tightly turning my knuckles white. "4!"

Al smirks at me and holds up three fingers as he yells, "3!"

I run a hand through my hair and narrow my eyes at Al determinedly. "2..."

Al flips me off with a laugh before he shouts, "1!"

I narrow my eyes and scan the pitch carefully, my broom slowly circling around while Al zooms around the pitch below me. Suddenly, I see a golden glint of light.

It's close to the ground, but I can handle that, so I whip my broom in the direction of the snitch. I grip the handle of the broom tightly, pressing my body tightly to the broom to accelerate. I can feel the wind whipping around me, forcing me to squint my eyes to keep them from watering. I can feel a big grin forming on my face as I get closer the ground and the snitch. Just as I am about to reach out and grab the golden orb, it darts to the left. I follow suit, pulling my broom to the left as well, racing after the snitch. I press my body against the broom more, accelerating the broom again. The acceleration causes tears to stream down my face, which just makes me smile more. I stretch my arm out and wrap my fingers around the snitch and, gripping it tightly in my hand, I pull my arm back in and lift my body up, slowing the broom down drastically. I place my feet on the ground and step off my broom, grinning up at Al, who has taken notice of me on the ground.

He quickly speeds to the ground and lands next to me, hopping off his broom as well. He slaps me on the back and grins as he says, "If I didn't think it would give you a big head, I would tell you that was a great catch."

I let out a laugh as we walk into the house and quietly walk through the kitchen, setting our brooms at the bottom of the stairs. At the top of the stairs, crouching just outside my dad's office, is a small form leaning silently against the wall. I shove the snitch into my pocket and nudge Al with my shoulder, nodding toward the top of the stairs once I have his attention.

I smirk to Al, who reciprocates with a wide grin, and we quietly walk over to her. When we get closer, we cross our arms over our chests and I smugly say, "It's rude to eavesdrop, you know."

She spins her head around quickly, almost losing her balance as she takes in the sight of me and my brother standing behind her. Instead of apologizing, she delicately places a finger over her lips and gestures for us to join her.

Al and I quickly crouch down, Al leaning over to Ariana and whispering, "What's going on?"

She waits until everything is completely silent before she whispers to us, "Your father is talking with Ron about there being a new Dark Lord and they're about to say who it is…"

**I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I'm going to try and update again soon. Maybe you'll even get _three_ chapters in one day! :O**

**I would love to hear what y'all think about the story so far! Really and truly I would! :)**

**Thanks y'all!**

**-TX :)**


	8. More Questions than Answers

**More Questions Than Answers**

**Ari's POV**

It feels like hours go by before Harry answers Ron's question. "According to Mr. Brighton, the new Dark Lord is someone from the Ministry. We don't know who it is exactly though."

Ron scoffs. "Someone from the Ministry, huh? Do you really think one of our own would betray us like this? Maybe Jonathan heard wrong..."

I glance back at James and Albus, who both wear the same concerned look on their faces as I do. James motions for Albus and I to follow him and we nod, quietly getting up off the floor and following him up two more flights of stairs to his room. Once we get to his room he lets us in and shuts the door quietly behind us, talking to us as soon as the door is shut.

"First off, what are dad and Uncle Ron doing talking this late? I mean, its," He quickly looks at the clock next to his bed, "already fifteen past ten in the evening! Obviously the conversation was meant to be a secret…" He looks over at Albus and adds, "Don't you find it odd that they were talking this early? I wonder if mum knows what's going on…"

"Who do you think the new Dark Lord is?" I ask nobody in particular. Is this Dark Lord the one who blew up my house?

Before they can answer, Harry walks into the room. We all look at him, eyes wide; afraid that he knew we had been listening to his conversation and was here to yell at us. Instead of yelling, or letting on that he overheard us at all, he looks at me and says, "Ariana, I need to speak with you immediately. Follow me please."

I get up slowly, glancing at both boys as I do before following Harry out of the room, down the stairs and into his office.

Harry sits down behind his desk and silently motions for me to sit in the chair across from him. I comply, slowly lowering myself into the chair. He waits until I've settled comfortably into the chair before he sighs and says, "Ariana, you've been summoned to wizard court for using magic outside of school. You're court date is tomorrow."

**James POV**

Did I just hear my dad and Uncle Ron correctly? There is a new Dark Lord? And it is someone from the Ministry? I thought my father had ended this stuff back when he defeated Lord Voldemort! I look over to Albus and Ari, my disbelief and confusion mirrored on their faces, and motion for them to follow me. They quietly get up from the floor and I lead them up to my room, my venting beginning the moment we enter my room and I shut the door.

"First off, what are dad and Uncle Ron doing talking this this late? I mean, its," I glance over at the clock placed on my bedside table, "already fifteen past ten in the evening! Obviously the conversation was meant to be a secret…" I look over to Albus and say, "Don't you find it odd that they were talking this early? I wonder if mum knows what's going on…"

Ariana cuts in, interrupting my train of thought as she asks, "Who do you think the new Dark Lord is?"

Before either Al or I can answer her, my father walks into my room. We all look at him with wide eyes, sure that he had caught us eavesdropping on his conversation with Uncle Ron. Instead, he looks at Ariana and says, "Ariana, I need to speak with you immediately. Follow me please."

As Ari gets up, shooting me and Al a look of panic and confusion before following my father out of the room, leaving Al and I alone in silence. Once the door shuts, I turn back to Al and smile. "Sooo, speaking of Hogwarts, wha-"

Al cuts me off, one of his eyebrows raised curiously. "Nobody said anything about Hogwarts…"

I laugh as I say, "You just did, now listen! What is our first prank going to be? Should we involve Teddy? Should we involve Ariana?"

Albus continues to look at me curiously. "We still have a week left of summer holiday, and you are already planning our first prank?" He lets out a laugh before adding, "I don't blame you though... I definitely don't think we should involve Teddy. He's a prefect now, which means the only interest he will have in our pranks is preventing them. As for involving Ari, she could have pranking potential. Though, since we've only known her for a day, we need to be sure we can trust her."

Leave it to Al to be the voice of reason... He may be a year younger than me, but he has always been more responsible. He has talked me out of doing stupid things multiple times, which is why I run all my pranking plans by him first.

He continues, more planning aloud than speaking to anyone in particular. "We could try to run an idea by her and see what she says and how she reacts. If she reacts well, then we can include her. If she reacts badly, then she can be on the receiving end of our prank. Now we just need to come up with a bloody brilliant prank…" He flashes me a look of menace and determination.

Suddenly my bedroom door flies opens and Ari walks in looking angry, followed closely by my father, who looks at me and my brother as he says, "Alright, it's off to bed for all of you. If your mum knew you were up, she would not be pleased. Also, Ariana and I will be going to the ministry tomorrow for her hearing. You two can come with if you'd like."

Albus nods to my father then gets up and leaves my room right away, Ariana following closely behind him.

I think about my dad's offer and decide that I'll definitely be attending Ariana's hearing tomorrow. Maybe, if I go, I'll finally figure out why she has to hide here. I turn off my lights and crawl into bed. The moment I lie down I realize just how tired I really am. I let out a yawn and slowly close my eyes, drifting into a light sleep only to be awoken by loud screams of terror coming from somewhere in my house.

**I've come to reaize that, since this story has already been completed, rewriting and editing it is really easy, which is good for everyone involved! :)**

**I hope yall enjoyed this chapter! :)**

**Thanks!**

**-TX :)**


	9. House of Horrors

**House of Horrors**

**Ari's POV**

"I... I have a _court date_?!" I exclaim loudly. "Are you kidding me? I was helping you and Ron get away from the police! Nobody even saw anything! I made sure of that!"

Harry smiles softly at me. "I understand, and we will do our best to get everything straightened out at the hearing tomorrow. Ron was there the whole time, so he can count as a witness as well."

I glare at the desk in front of him for a moment before asking, "How long were you two sitting outside my house? Did you arrive with the first responders?"

Harry shakes his head, his hands crossed and placed calmly on the large, wooden desk. "As you heard the Minister say, we were supposed to rendezvous with your father yesterday. However, when we got there, we saw that there were some Death Eaters already at your house talking to him."

I head snaps up and I look at him with wide eyes. "Does that mean you two saw everything happen? You know who blew up my house? You could have stopped it?"

Harry's eyes filled with sadness as he answers me. "Ariana, I am very sorry for your loss, but there was nothing we could have done. We couldn't risk blowing our cover. We were doing our jobs, just as your father was. Your father knew and accepted the risks of his job. Now, it's late and you've had quite a long day. You should head off to bed."

Though that isn't my reason for questioning him, I sense that he won't be answering any more of my questions tonight so, when he gets up from the chair behind his desk and holds out a hand to help me up, I take it. As we exit his office, I let out a big yawn. I guess today really did take a lot out of me...

We slowly walk to James' room, each of my steps heavier than the last. I walk over and open up the door to James' room, where he and Albus are still sitting and talking, and Harry follows in behind me."Alright, it's off to bed for all of you. If your mum knew you were up, she would not be pleased. Also, Ariana and I will be going to the ministry tomorrow for her hearing. You two can come with if you'd like."

Albus nods to his father then exits the room with me following suit almost immediately after.

I slowly walk into my room and crawl onto the bed, using the last of my energy to pull up my covers around me. I lay my head down on the pillow and close my eyes, immediately falling asleep.

_I am in my living room sitting on the couch, looking around the room anticipatorily. I look down at my twiddling fingers and see that I am wearing my black dress with white bows printed on it and my black boots, my hair pulled into a braid. Obviously I am anxiously waiting for someone, though I haven't the faintest idea who._

_Suddenly three familiar looking hooded figures enter my living room. I jump up from the couch and pull my wand out from behind my ear, pointing it at the figure in the middle. I don't know who these people are, but I have a weird feeling about them, like they're dangerous... I make sure to put as much authority in my voice as possible as I say, "Don't come any closer to me..." When they stop moving, I ask, "What are you doing here? What do you want?" _

_The middle figure pulls his hood down and smiles a twisted, toothy grin. He is a tall man, with piercing green eyes, a pointed nose, and prominent cheek bones. His slicked back hair is a dirty, greasy blonde color that shines as he runs his bony fingers through it. He lets a cynical chuckle escape his thin, twisted lips before he coldly says, "Oh my dear… You have no idea what I'm capable of… The fun is only just beginning. I've only just begun to take away the things you care about, the things that matter to you. For example, your father..."_

_I shake my head angrily, my knuckles turning white as I tighten my grip on my wand. "I don't care about my father..."_

_The man laughs icily as he says, "Your father will be so upset to hear that!"_

_With that he pulls out his wand, the other two hooded figures behind him following his lead, and he points to the ground and my father appears inside a gigantic birdcage._

_I glance at the man curiously before trying to run to my trapped father, however, the figures behind the greasy man wave their wands, fire erupting from the ends of them. The fire from one wand encircles the outside of my father's cage, the other flame surrounding me. The closer I try to move to my father, the tighter the rings of fire gets._

"_Why? Why are you doing this?" I ask, my voice cracking at the end as my nerves get the better of me._

_He lets out a manic chuckle. "Because of what you will become, dear child."_

_Suddenly, the greasy haired leader smiles a sickening smile, points his wand at my father and yells "CRUCIO!"_

_Red sparks erupt from the end of his wand, hitting my father directly in the chest. His back arches and a groan escapes from his mouth as he is hit with the spell. He falls to his knees, his hands clenched into fists when a pained yell comes from his mouth._

_My eyes widen in panic as I yell, "NO! PLEASE STOP!"_

_My father is crying out in pain as the greasy haired man tortures him. I have tears of shock running down my face as I watch powerless, as my father gets tortured. Any movement to try and save the man who hates me is hindered by the bright burning flame that still surrounds me. I can hear the desperation dripping from my voice as I yell, "PLEASE! STOP, PLEASE!"_

_The man sneers at me as he continues to torture my father. "I thought you didn't care about your father?"_

"_I do, okay?! Please, just stop! He may not be the best father in the world but he's the only family I have left! He wasn't always bad! PLEASE STOP!" My begging only seems to fuel him more as he twists his face into a deranged smile. "PLEASE! STOP!"_

_The greasy man snarls at me, his eyes narrowed as he says, "Your compassion will be your downfall, child..."_

_Suddenly I am being shaken and I hear my father calling out my name, panic filling his voice. _

"_**STOP**__**IT**__! __**PLEASE**__!" I yell again as I attempt to run through the ring of magical fire that surrounds me. The room goes black but he continues to call out my name, though it doesn't sound like my father's voice anymore._

"_Ariana! Ariana, please wake up!" the new voice calls out to me, dragging me further into the heavy blackness._

My eyes dart open, tears streaming from my wide eyes, and I sit upright in a panic while frantically searching for my wand. "Dad?!"

Instead of my father answering, another newly familiar voice answers. "Ariana are you alright?"

I look to my right to find James sitting on the end of my bed, wand in hand and confusion written all over his face. Slowly I begin to remember where I am and the circumstances that brought me here. I raise a shaky hand to my face let out a shuddered sigh before asking, "J-James? What are you doing here?"

He slowly puts his wand down and asks, "Ari is everything okay? You were screaming bloody loud, and… Wait, are you crying? What happened?"

I hold up a finger and, in an attempt to stop the panicked tremors that shoot through my body, I close my eyes and begin to take shaky breaths.

James lies back across the bottom of the bed and sighs loudly as he tiredly rubs his face with both hands. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I give him a pointed look, as if the answer should be obvious, and shake my head. I'd really rather not relive that terror, let alone try and explain it to someone I barely know.

He sighs again then flashes me a quick smile and says "Well, if you want to talk, I'm right across the hall. I probably won't be going back to sleep tonight anyway." He gets up to leave and a new sense of fear fills me.

"Do you mind if I hang out with you over there? I probably won't be going back to sleep either and I would prefer not to be alone." My eyes begin to fill with tears at the thought of being alone with my thoughts in this big room.

He tiredly nods and gestures for me to follow him so, after hurriedly picking up my wand off the table next to me, I crawl out of my bed and follow him across the hall to his room. The moment I enter his room I grab a loose blanket off his bed, wrapping it around myself and sitting on his floor with my knees pulled up against my chest while James walks over and sits on his bed with his legs crossed.

I look around the room and see that James' room is covered with sport posters, probably Quidditch, most of which are scarlet colored. He also has a few pictures of him with some people I don't recognize.

"So tell me about quidditch. How do you play?" I say, still staring at the posters.

His face lights up at the mention of the sport and he immediately launches into an explanation. "Well, let's start with the basics. We play on a huge pitch. Each side of the pitch has 3 ring shaped goals." I nod to show that I am listening and understand so he continues. "The match is played between two teams, each with seven players who ride brooms. The positions are three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, and a seeker. I play seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team. The chasers are the ones who score. They pass the quaffle-I will tell you about that later-back and forth and try to toss it through one of the three goal hoops. If they make it through one of the hoops, their team gets 10 points. The keeper stays in front of the goal hoops and tries to prevent the chasers from scoring. There is only one keeper. Are you following so far?"

I nod once again allowing him to continue.

"The beaters are there to protect their teammates from getting hit with bludgers-again I will explain it in a bit. The beaters are each given a wooden club to hit the bludgers with. Finally we have the best position, or the seeker. The seeker flies around the pitch looking for the golden snitch. Seekers are the only players allowed to touch the golden snitch during the match. Now let's talk about the balls-"

He pauses to let out a chuckle before continuing his explanation. "There are three types of balls: the quaffle, the bludger, and the snitch. The quaffle is a red ball with four large divots on it. It is very light which makes it easy to grip with one hand. That is the ball to score with. Then there are the bludgers. They are round, iron balls that are supposed to knock players off their brooms. They are very dangerous, but the beaters are supposed to protect their team from them while also aiming them at the opposing team.

Finally, we have the snitch. It is a small golden ball, some with golden wings, other with gold. It flits around the pitch at high speeds trying to avoid being caught without leaving confines of the pitch. When the seeker of a team catches the snitch, that team gets 150 points and the game ends. Any questions?"

I let out a laugh and shake my head. "No. But the game does sound a bit dangerous. Well, I guess it's no more dangerous than quodpot..."

He looks at me, a puzzled look on his face. "What the hell is '_quodbot'_?"

I smile at his curious expression, relishing in the fact that it's now my turn to explain. "Quod**POT** is an American wizarding sport that was _very_ popular at my old school."

"Ohh quodpot… How do you play?" He asks me, clearly still confused.

"Well it is also played on a field with brooms, but there is just one team per school and they compete with other American wizarding schools. There are eleven players per team. They all fly towards the opposite end of the field, tossing the quod back and forth, trying to get it in the pot at the end of the field before it explodes. The quod is a quaffle that is bewitched to explode and the pot at the end of the field has a solution in it that prevents the quod from exploding. Once the quod has been put in the pot, whichever team put it in there gets a point and a new quod is used. If the quod explodes in a players hands, that player is disqualified. Once all players from a team have been disqualified, the match is over."

He sits in silence, looking at me curiously. Finally he asks, "Did you play?"

I laugh loudly, shaking my head again. "No! I tried out, but didn't make it. Every time I got the quod it would explode. And I mean EVERY time."

He rolls his eyes and chuckles, "Oh, that does sound rather unlucky... Would you be willing to give quidditch a go?"

I shrug my shoulders and smirk at the boy as I say, "I guess I could be willing to try it..."

Suddenly the door to James' room swings open, interrupting our conversation. We look at each other with wide eyes then whip our heads toward the door in a panic, my mouth falling open when I see who is standing in the doorway.

**I promise my goal isn't to overwhelm y'all with an abundance of chapters today! I just want to finish editing this story as soon as possible. This will be the last chapter I upload tonight, I promise! :)**

**Again, I hope y'all enjoyed this nice, long chapter and I would _love_ for y'all to leave me a review and let me know what you thought! :)**

**Thanks!**

**-TX :)**


	10. Bonding and Balls

**Bonding and Balls**

**Ari's POV**

Standing in the open doorway is a groggy and exhausted looking Albus Potter. "What the bloody hell is going on in here? I'm trying to sleep you know. I can hear you both two floors down!"

James lets out a laugh as I say, "Sorry Albus! We'll try to keep it down in here."

He sighs, leaning against the doorframe as he says, "Okay first of all, call me Al. Albus is so old. I'm only 14!"

"Sorry. Al it is." I say with a smirk.

He smiles at me and continues. "Second, what were you lot talking so loudly about in here?"

This time James responds, grinning as he says, "We were talking about quidditch, mate! I'm trying to convince her to give it a shot."

I shrug my shoulders indifferently at Al and say, "It _sounds _interesting, but I've never played so I don't know if I'll like it or not."

Al sighs dramatically and looks over at James. "Well that just won't do, will it? Do you reckon we take her to the pitch out back and teach her?"

I flash a wide grin at the both of them, eager to get back on a broom and fly around again since it's been almost six months since I've been up in the air.

James rolls his eyes and lets out a laugh as he says "Well I guess we have to now. Look how excited she is! Let's go... Al, make sure to grab our brooms and I'm going to go sneak into Teddy's room and borrow his. We'll meet at the bottom of the stairs." He points to a medium sized wooden box on the floor and adds, "Ari, you grab the ball chest."

Al walks out of the room and heads for his own, going to pick up his broom. I jump up off the floor, dropping the blanket that was wrapped around me, and grab the box James pointed to before he motions for me to follow him out of the room. We quietly round the corner out of James' room and James pulls out his wand, quietly muttering "lumos". His lit wand lights the way as we silently walk down the first flight of stairs.

When we get to the second floor, James hands me his wand then holds up a hand and motions for me to stop before disappearing into one of the two rooms on this level. After a few minutes of waiting, James emerges from the room with a broom in his hand. He holds out his free hand and nods his thanks when I place his wand in it. He then leads us down the second flight of stairs.

When we get to the top of the final staircase, the ball chest begins to get heavy. I quietly try to readjust how I'm holding the chest, but instead I almost drop it and almost fall down the stairs. I guess James sees me struggling because he stops me and says with a smirk "Switch with me." He puts out his wand, leans his broom against the wall, takes the chest from me then starts down the rest of the stairs.

"Thanks." I whisper to him. I grab his broom off the wall and follow him down the rest of the stairs. We get to the bottom of the stairs and find Al impatiently waiting for us, a broom in each hand.

"What took you two gits so long? I've been down here waiting for bloody ever! Were you snogging or something? Let's go!" he says while tapping his foot on the floor. I can feel myself blush and let out a soft chuckle while James hits his brother with the chest he's carrying.

Al walks ahead, his wand lit, towards the back yard with James and me following closely behind. Once we get to the backyard, Al hands me the remaining broom, flings one of his legs over the remaining broomstick and kicks off, zooming towards the pitch, leaving me and James in the dark. I hold both brooms in one hand and reach for my wand so that I can give us light, only to realize that I left my wand in my room. _Good going Ariana… What if something happens?_

I let out a sigh and whisper, "James, I will be right back. I left my wand in my room."

He sets the chest on the top of a table in the yard and grabs my arm. "It's really alright. If anything happens, I've got you," He says with a wink. Once again, I feel myself blushing.

James pulls his wand out of his back pocket and whispers "Lumos Maxima." A large white orb rises out of his wand and floats in front of us. He puts his wand back into his back pocket, picks up the chest and nods his head towards the pitch, motioning for me to follow him. We still have a little bit of a walk ahead of us but, out in the distance, I can see Al racing around on his broom. I let out a sigh, which James takes as me wanting to join Al flying out on the pitch. "You can fly ahead if you'd like. I'll catch up to you guys in a bit."

"And leave you out here all by yourself? I think not! I'm your protection, remember?" I say with a smirk.

He shakes his head with a laugh. "Well let's go then! We've still got a bit of a walk to go!"

I smile and nod at him, and we continue walking, talking the entire way.

Once we get to the pitch, James sets down the chest and looks at me. "Alright, whenever you are ready, go ahead and take off. I'll catch up with you two in a mo."

Al looks down at me and James and yells, "Are you two _ever_ going to get up here?!"

James rolls his eyes and says, "Honestly, he's the most impatient person I know! I can only imagine how he'll be at your hearing tomorrow..."

My eyes widen as I think about my hearing. I had completely forgotten about it later today! I guess I'm going to go in looking tired. Oh well, there are worse ways to go in, I guess.

James looks at me and nods to the broom. I fling my leg over the handle and kick off the ground, rising up into the air and flying in large spirals, ascending higher and higher with each turn. The wind lightly blows my disheveled hair around my face as I fly. I look down at the ground, where James is still messing with the ball chest and yell "Are you coming up here or not? Stop playing with your balls and get on your broom!"

He puts something into his pocket, gets on his broom and kicks off, accelerating toward me at an unbelievable speed. He gets up by me, pulls his broom flat and looks at me with a smirk. "Was it really necessary to talk about my balls? I was simply letting them out of their restraints!"

Al laughs as he flies over to us and says, "Really, you two? Bonding over _balls_?"

James laughs as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a shiny ball with slender wings. "Alright, let's begin. We are going to start with the hardest one; the golden snitch. I'm going to let it go, we will wait 10 seconds, then we will all go look for it. Whoever gets it first gets a point. First to five points wins. Are you two ready?"

Al and I nod as James releases the ball and begins the count down. "10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2…"


	11. Dreams Become Reality

**Dreams Become Reality**

**James POV**

She and Al both nod while I release the ball and count down. "10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1!"

We each take off on our brooms, circling the pitch, watching for the small golden ball. Suddenly Ari takes off toward the ground and, assuming she's found the snitch, I follow her lead and take off behind her, looking for what she'd seen. I'm about to turn back and search somewhere else when something buzzes by my head. I whip my head around and see the small golden ball flying a few feet ahead of me. I quickly turn my head toward Ari and yell "I hope you enjoy losing!" before zooming off after the snitch. I look back just in time to see that Ari looks back at me, confused, and then she aims her broom in my direction.

I lean against the handle of my broom, picking up speed as I do, and race after the snitch. The wind whips through my hair and around my face as I fly. _There is no better feeling than flying fast…_ I twist my body, forcing my broom into a barrel roll, just as the snitch takes a hard left. I quickly look back to see if Ari is still following me but I can't find her anywhere. I turn back around to try and catch the snitch, only to see Ari sitting on her broom in front of me, snitch in hand.

"How did you… Where did you… What just happened?" I manage to stammer out. _I'm a bloody seeker for Merlin's sake! How she catch that before me?_

All she responds back with is "1-0." Then she smirks and releases the snitch again. We wait 10 seconds and take off again.

After a few hours of playing, the score is now 4-4. Al got tired and decided to go inside after just an hour, so it's just me and Ariana out here now.

I caught the snitch last so I am the one who has to release it. The sun was coming up now, which was making it easier to see the snitch. I release the ball and began counting down when an all too familiar voice calls out to us, interrupting me. "James? Ariana? It's 6 in the morning, what are you two doing out here?!"

Ari and I share a quick glance before she responds. "Sorry Mr. Potter, James and I couldn't sleep so he was just teaching me about quidditch."

Dad laughs as he says, "Well, I was just going to leave a note but, since I've already got you here, I'll just tell you. Some things have come up at the ministry so your hearing has been moved to Friday at 3."

I look over at Ariana and see she has a huge smile on her face. When she looks over at me, she grins and gives me a thumbs up.

Just as dad turns to go back inside, a giant fireball flies out of nowhere, hitting Ari and her broom and knocking her clean off her broom. I can see her falling toward the ground and she appears to be unconscious so I point my broom at the ground and press my body against my broom. I get to her falling body and grab her arm as I yell, "Ariana! I'm going to need you to WAKE UP!"

**Ari's POV**

"_Ariana! I'm going to need you to WAKE UP!"_

My eyes flutter open and I find myself flying through the air, the ground below me rushing by in a blur. I look up, panic filling me, and see that James is holding me by my arm as he flies us toward the house on his broom. He looks down to me and we make hasty eye contact before he tugs my arm up and I swing my leg over the broom handle. The moment I'm on the broom I wrap my arms around James' waist tightly, holding on the best I can as a large stream of black smoke soars past us.

"DAD!" James yells to Harry, who has his wand out and is yelling at James to get to the house. James heeds his father's instruction and leans down onto the broom further as more black smoke runs into us. It almost knocks me off James' broom, but I tighten my grip around his waist and hold on the best I can.

We finally get back to the house, after what seems like a lifetime, and James and I jump off the broom, three streams of black smoke landing in front of us the moment our feet hit the ground. The smoke streams turn into people as soon as they land; two in the back and one in the front. The formation and people seems familiar somehow…

The figures are in dark cloaks with their hoods pulled up and are wearing silver masks with grotesque faces on them. The front hooded figure waves his wand over his mask revealing piercing green eyes, a pointed nose and a twisted, evil grin, and that's when I realize why they looks so familiar.

I gasp and move behind James as I whisper, "I know him… He's from my nightmare…"

James raises his wand and points it at the leader, his free hand moving in front of me protectively.

The leader lets out a slow chuckle and looks at me through narrowed eyes and says, "I see you remember me, which means you remember what I can do…" Then he looks at Harry. "You know what we want. Just give her to us!"

Harry looks at James and inconspicuously nods. James reflects his father's actions then grabs my hand behind his back as I look around and realize the rest of the Potter family has joined us outside. Someone, I'm assuming Al, slowly walks up behind me and places my wand in my hand quietly. As soon as he does I feel a surge of energy shoot through me and I straighten up from behind James, glaring at the leader. I can hear Ginny whisper something to Al but I'm focusing on what is going on in front of me.

Harry laughs humorlessly at the leader and saysm "If you thought we were going to get her without a fight, then you were wrong. And if you thought you were going to get her at ALL then you are bloody mental!"

I squeeze James' hand, lean forward, and whisper "Stupefy left on three" into his ear, to which he nods his understanding. Next I turn and nudge Teddy, who glances over to me and nods when I mouth "Stupefy right on three."

_The one in the middle is mine... _I think to myself angrily.

I whisper my counts to James and hold up my fingers to count for Teddy.

"One…" One finger held up.

"Two…" Two fingers held up.

"Three…" Three fingers held up.

All at once Teddy, James and I flick our wands and yell "Stupefy", jets of red sparks flying from all of our wands. Teddy hits the hooded figure on the right and James hits the one on the left while the man in the middle blocks my spell, however, Harry caught on to our plan and, when the leader is distractedly blocking my spell, Harry hits him with a body locking spell. The leader falls to the ground and Harry walks over to the man, an angry expression on his face as he says, "You lose."

Al runs out of the house with a big suitcase in hand and walks over to his father just as Harry looks around at all of us and says, "Teddy, you take Lily. Ginny, you take Al and the suitcase. I will take James and Ariana."

I look at James, confused as to what his dad is talking about, and roll my eyes when he responds with a smile and says, "Just grab my dad's arm and don't vomit."

I'm not sure what he means, but I do as he says and grab Harry's arm anyways. My world immediately goes black and I feel as though I'm being pulled in all different directions yet being compressed into a tube at the same time. Suddenly my feet hit the gravel and I fall on my butt, my hands a bit shaky.

Harry laughs and helps me up from the ground. "Are you okay? Apparition can be a bit straining." I nod and smile, making sure I keep my mouth shut. If I open it at all, I'm afraid I might puke. He smiles as he adds, "By the way, good job back there. All three of you. That took courage."

I nod again then look around to take in my surroundings. We are in the middle of an empty street, lined with houses and the house numbers go from one to eleven on one side, and go from thirteen on up on the other side.

_That's odd… Where is number 12? _I think while looking around for it.

Harry walks up to the houses and looks at them for a moment. Suddenly bricks on the outside of houses eleven and thirteen begin to fold away from each other, revealing more bricks beneath. It looks as though the houses are being split apart by a growing brick wall.

The bricks continue to pull apart until what's left between houses eleven and thirteen is another house with the number 12 on it. This house looks the exact same as the eleven and thirteen, the only thing different about it being that it hadn't been there a few moments before.

My mouth drops open and my eyes widen in shock when I hear Teddy laugh and say, "Welcome to number 12 Grimmauld Place."


	12. Shopping Trip

**Shopping Trip**

**James's POV**

_I get to her falling body and grab her arm. "Ariana! I'm going to need you to WAKE UP!" I shout._

Apparently my yelling at her woke her up. She and I make eye contact, I tug her arm up and she swings her leg over the broom, clinging tightly to my torso once she's on. As she does that, a stream of black, wispy smoke flies by us. Dad has told me a lot of stories about these guys and none of them were good.

I look down to my dad in a panic and yell, "DAD!"

He pulls out his wand and yells for me to get back to the house, so I lean down onto the broom further, trying to accelerate, and zoom toward the house as another stream of black smoke hits us. I feel Ari start to fall off but she recovers quickly and wraps her arms around my waist tighter. We finally get back to the house and jump off my broom and, the moment we hit the ground, three streams of smoke hit the ground in front of us and materialize into people. They are in black hoods with outrageous silver masks on. The leader of the three hooded men reaches his wand up to his face and waves it, making his mask disappear and revealing a pir of extremely green eyes, a pointy nose, and a devilish grin. I feel Ari move behind me, tense and afraid. She whispers to me "I know him… He's from my nightmare…"

I narrow my eyes and tighten my grip on my wand as I point it at the familiar man. _I know him too..._

He lets out a slow chuckle and looks at Ari. "I see you remember me, which means you remember what I can do…" Then he looks at my dad. "You know what we want. Just give her to us!"

Dad looks at me and nods inconspicuously, the gesture being to make sure I keep Ari protected. I reflect my father's actions and grab Ari's hand behind my back. I can hear the rest of my family joining us out here and I hear someone walk up behind me and Ari then I feel Ari straighten up behind me. I also hear my mum whispering to Al; telling him to go pack up all of our belonging from inside the house into the moving trunk.

My father laughs at the leader and says "If you thought you were going to get her without a fight, then you were wrong. And if you thought you were going to get her at ALL then you are bloody mental!"

Ari squeezes my hand and lightly whispers "Stupefy left on three." I nod, focusing my attention on the man on the left.

Then I hear, very softly from behind me, "One…"

I realize we are still holding hands behind my back. "Two…"

Her hand tenses with each count she makes, closing tighter around mine each time. "Three…"

I let go of Ari's hand, wave my wand and yell "Stupefy!"

Red sparks fly out of the end of my wand, hitting the hooded figure on the left. At the same time, Teddy and Ari do the same thing. Teddy's spell hits the hooded figure on the right, but the man in the front blocks Ari's spell, though dad has caught on to our plan because, as the front man blocks Ari's spell, dad waves his wand at the front man and hits him right in the chest, locking his entire body stiff like a board. Then my dad walks over to the man and tersely says, "You lose."

Al runs out of our house, moving trunk in hand, and walks right over to my dad. My dad looks at all of us and says, "Teddy, you take Lily. Ginny, you take Al and the suitcase. I will take James and Ariana."

Ari looks at me, confusion on her face, so I smile and say, "Just grab my dad's arm and don't vomit."

She does as I say and grabs my dad's arm.

Now, I've apparated multiple times before, but it's not an experience you can really ever get used to. Your body feels as if it's being pulled in all different directions but also being compressed into itself at the same time. It can be a sickening experience, especially during someone's first apparition. We land outside of the safe house and Ari hits the pavement rather hard and falls back onto her butt. I stifle my laughter, though Teddy doesn't.

My dad helps Ari up off the ground with a chuckle before looking at Teddy, Ari and me and saying, "By the way, good job back there. All three of you. That took courage." Ari nods then looks at the house, her face in complete shock.

Teddy sees her face and lets out another laugh then says, "Welcome to number 12 Grimmauld Place."

Mum and dad tell us to wait outside while they check to see if the house is clear of anything dangerous, something about old traps that might still be in place, so we all sit on the grass outside the house and wait for my parents to get back.

The sun is still rising in the sky so I look over at Ari and ask her what time it is. She shrugs her shoulders, her closed eyes looking toward the orange sky above. I ask Teddy the same thing and groan when he tells me it's about six thirty in the morning. I lie back in the grass with my hands placed behind my head as a makeshift pillow, and let out a yawn before closing my eyes. I'd only gotten about two hours of sleep last night and I'm pretty exhausted.

My parents come back out and smile as they tell us we're allowed to go into the house. Ari is first to the door, but she lets everyone else in first. After she walks in, dad shuts the front door and mum claps to get our attention before saying, "You all can pick your own rooms. Go on now! Go pick!" With that Teddy, Al and I run up the stairs, while Ari hangs back to talk to my mum.

I get upstairs first and run straight for the biggest room and sit on the bed in the room, Al picks the room next to mine, and Teddy and Lily run up to the fourth floor and grab rooms up there. Finally Ari comes walking up the stairs, looking sullen. I hear her continue up to the fourth floor stairs, then the fifth floor stairs. _She chose a room on the top floor?_

Mum walks up the stairs with the trunk and stops outside my room then she waves her wand from the case to my room. All of my things from my old room fly into my new room and place themselves accordingly. She then does the same thing for Al, Teddy, and Lily's rooms. She comes back down and pokes her head into my room and says, "Ariana and I are going to go to Diagon Alley today to do some school shopping. Would you like to come with?"

I remember that I owe Teddy a new broom, since his was hit with a fireball, and nod. She smiles and says "Okay. We are leaving in 10 minutes so make sure you are ready to go by then." Once again, I nod and she turns to leave. I wait until I hear that she is all the way downstairs and make my way up to the fifth floor.

I knock on Ari's door and wait for her to let me in. She doesn't say anything so I walk in and look around. She has changed the color of her walls to a ruby red, but other than that her room is pretty bare. It just has a bed in the middle of the room. She is sitting on her bed, knees pulled up into her chest, shoulders shaking. _Is she crying?_

I never know what to do when people are crying, especially girls, so I awkwardly ask, "Are you alright?"

She looks up at me with wide eyes full of surprise. "I'm fine. What do you want?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing after everything that happened today. Why are you crying?"

She shakes her head, angrily wiping at her face as she says, "_I wasn't crying_!"

I raise an eyebrow at her curiously and ask, "Well then what's wrong?"

She lets out a sigh, her resolution clearly gone, and says, "Those hooded men will be back. As long as I'm alive, and not with them, they'll be back."

**Ari's POV**

_I feel my mouth drop open and my eyes widen. I hear Teddy laugh and say "Welcome to number 12 Grimmauld Place."_

The building had come out of nowhere! Harry and Ginny tell us to wait outside while they check to see if the house is safe, so we all decide to sit down in the grass. After sitting for what seems like forever, I lie back in the grass and close my eyes. The moment I do, James asks me what time it is, but I don't know or, to be honest, care.

I hear him ask Teddy what time it is, though I don't catch his answer, and then hear him yawn loudly. I shake my head, though I can't help but think: _After everything that's happened today, I'd be surprised if he weren't tired..._

His parents come back outside and give us the okay to go into the house. I am first to the door, but I let everyone else in first; I want to make sure that the hooded men didn't follow us. After I feel like I've sufficiently surveyed the area, I walk into the house. Harry goes behind me and shuts the door while Ginny claps at all of us and says "You all can pick your own rooms. Go on now! Go pick!" Al, Lily, James and Teddy all run up the stairs to go pick rooms, but I stay behind. I have to talk to Ginny.

"Mrs. Potter, what am I going to do about clothes and school books? All of my stuff was destroyed in the… explosion."

She smiles gently and says, "Well that just won't do. It's still pretty early. How about we go shopping for that today?"

"I don't have any money though…" I say quietly. My father wasn't exactly a generous man, and he wasn't my biggest fan, which means I definitely won't be getting any inheritance from him.

She laughs, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, and says, "I wouldn't expect you to pay for your books and clothes! You live with us now, which means I will pay for all of your stuff."

I shake my head and try to cut her off and say that, while I appreciate the generous offer, I cannot accept it but she won't hear it. "You need to receive an education, and Hogwarts is the best place to do that. If that means I have to buy you all of your supplies so ensure you receive that education, then I will do so."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." I say with a weak smile before I turn and walk upstairs.

Harry and Ginny's room is on the second floor and it looks as though James and Al have occupied two of the three rooms on the third floor, so I keep walking. Lily and Teddy chose the two rooms on the fourth floor so I follow the stairs up to the fifth floor. _This is probably best. This way you can have nightmares without waking anybody up or freaking anybody out. I'm such a freak…_ I sit down on the bed in the room and sigh. The walls here are just as boring as the ones at their old house, so I mutter a spell and change their color to a bright ruby red.

I pull my knees up to my chest and rest my forehead on top of my knees, closing my eyes and going over the events of the past few days. I find that going over everything again, reanalyzing everything, helps me to understand what's happened better and see things I hadn't seen before.

Those men had been in my nightmare just last night. They had also been at my house when it exploded; I'm even pretty sure they are the ones who caused the explosion. I also think they had been there when my mother died. When I saw them at my old house, they had seemed familiar somehow. Even in my nightmare, I hadn't known who they were, but they had a certain air of familiarity about them. Plus, the green eyed man knew who I was and even seemed to know that I had dreamed about him, but I've never met him before in my life. How did he know who I am? How did he know where to find me? If he knew where to find me before, how do I know he won't find me here? As long as I'm alive and here, the Potters are in danger...

Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted when someone shifts uncomfortably and asks, "Are you alright?"

I look up in shock and say, "I'm fine. What do you want?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing after everything that happened today. Why are you crying? Is everything okay?"

I shake my head and angrily wipe my hands on my face, surprised to find that it is in fact wet with tears. I clench my teeth and say, "_I wasn't crying!"_

He raises an eyebrow at me and asks, "Then what's wrong?"

I let out a sigh, my resolve gone, and say, "Those hooded men will be back. As long as I'm alive, and not with them, they'll be back."

He looks at me, clearly confused. I am about to explain, but we are interrupted by Ginny calling for us. It's time for us to go shopping. "I will explain it to you later." I say, hoping he will forget about it after shopping.

We both walk down the five flights of stairs in silence to meet his mom. She smiles at both of us and says, "You two are going to need to grab my arms."

_Ugh… Apparition again… _I think as I grab her arm. My world goes black again and my body gets pulled in every direction. Then we land. While apparition isn't a pleasant experience, it IS a short one. By the time you are able to register what is happening to your body, you've already landed.

Where we've landed, I'm not sure, but it's lovely. It is lined with what looks like wizard shops on both sides of the street. There are shops for robes, shops for books, shops for wands, shops for pranks, shops for food, and many other types of shops that I don't recognize and, the best part is that it was only for wizards. Back home, when we shopped for my Salem Academy school supplies, we had to go into muggle stores and talk to the wizard shop keepers in code. It was very annoying. It doesn't look like things are that way here though. Ginny leads us towards a very large stone building with the word GRINGOTTS written in gold letters on the top of it and tells us she has to go in and get some money and to wait for her outside.

Rather than wait for her, James walks into a store named Broomstix while I walk over to the store that sells owls and look in the window. I see small tawny owls, large snowy owls, owls of all sizes and colors, along with all the items needed to take care of an owl. I turn away from the window and put my hands in my pockets. I wrap my fingers around my wand while I walk around. I don't want to be completely taken by surprise if anything happens while I'm here.

I walk into Broomstix to find James, but I can't find him anywhere. I walk around all the brooms and look, but he's nowhere in sight. I walk up to a girl in the store and ask "Have you seen a somewhat tall boy, with messy black hair and hazel eyes? He walked in her a little bit ago, but I can't seem to be able to find him now."

She giggles and points back outside. "It sounds like you are looking for James Potter. Just look for a crowd of giggling girls and he should be at the center."

"Um okay, thanks?" I say. _ That's was absolutely no help at all…_

I walk out of the store and look around. I see an orange and blue store with the large face of a man on top of it and arms protruding from the sides. One of the arms is moving up and down, raising and lowering a large, black top hat. The sign under the man's face reads Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I walk over to the store window and look inside, noticing that the store is packed full of both kids and teens standing at every shelf in the store. I think I see James in there too so I enter the store and head towards the area where I thought I saw him. _That's definitely James. I would recognize that messy hair anywhere! _I think to myself as I near the person.

He is talking with a tall, red-haired man with one ear in the back of the store. I tip-toe to the back and crouch down behind some boxes. I hear James say "Well we aren't sure yet, but it's going to be brilliant! We're going to need supplies though. What do you say? Will you give the world's best prankster some supplies?"

The one eared man laughs. "No, I will not give the 'world's best prankster' supplies. I will give the world's craziest nephew supplies though!"

I hear footstep heading in my direction so I look down and pretend I am tying my shoe. "Ari? When did you get here?" James asks.

I look up guiltily, knowing I probably heard something I shouldn't have, and smile. However, before I can answer, I hear Ginny calling for me.

"I uh… I have to go." I say nervously, quickly getting up and running out of the store. Ginny is standing outside the store with a stack of books in her hands. "I went ahead and bought your books already. Now we just need to go shopping for robes. Do you have an owl dear?"

I shake my head, raising a curious eyebrow at her. "No. Why would I?"

She gives me a funny look and shakes her head. "To send people letters! Cell phones and laptops aren't allowed at Hogwarts, so letters are the only means of communication. Didn't they use owl at your old school? Never mind, I will get you one today. Let's go to Madam Malkin's."

She leads me down the street a bit to a store full of robes. A woman with a craft tape measure around her neck walks out from behind the front desk and greets us. "Hello Mrs. Potter! What brings you in today?"

Ginny smiles at the woman and gestures to me. "Ariana here needs some robes!" Then she turns to me and says, "I will be right back, Madam Malkin will take your measurements and fit you for your robes. I won't be gone long." With that said, she flashes one more smile at me and walks out of the store.

Madam Malkin pulls the measuring tape from around her neck and grabs my hand. "On the platform please; arms up."

I do as she says, stepping onto the large, round platform and raising my arms. She measures my arm and around my waist then walks away, probably to get a robe for me to try on.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new? I'm Carter Cass. What's your name?"


	13. Forbidden Friendships

**Forbidden Friendships**

**Ari's POV**

I smile down at the boy and say, "Hello Carter Cass, I'm Ariana, but feel free to call me Ari."

Madam Malkin walks back to me and hands me two different robes to try on then leaves, coming back with a set of robes in her hand. I put on the first robe and slowly spin around in it, looking at myself in the mirror in front of me as I do.

"Are you a student at Hogwarts?" Carter asks as he grabs the set of robes from Madam Malkin.

I shake my head as I slip out of one robe and into the other. "Not yet, but I start there this year."

"Well, Ariana, maybe I will see you there." He says with a wink. He then turns and walks out, though not before he gives me one final wave and a smile.

Ginny walks in as Carter is leaving and Madam Malkin is giving me my new robes. Ginny has a cage in her hands and looks at me with a big smile as she says, "This is Harriet!" She lifts up the cage to reveal a small owl. She (I assume with a name like Harriet that she is, in fact, a she.) has mainly light brown feathers, with random dark brown feathers dispersed throughout her body. I love her the moment I see her.

Ginny hands me the cage and walks over to Madam Malkin to get my robes and pay so I decide to wait for Ginny outside. As soon as I walk outside I see James talking to Carter, though it doesn't look to be a friendly conversation. James looks angry and is holding a new broom in one hand and his wand in the other while Carter has a smug grin on his face and is leaning against the brick wall next to him. I roll my eyes and tighten my grip on the handle of the cage I'm holding and think, _Ugh. I'm going to go break it up before something bad can happen._

I walk over and grab James' wand wielding arm. "James, we are getting ready to leave. Let's go." I smile politely at Carter and add, "See you at Hogwarts Carter."

James looks from me to Carter, apparent rage on his face. "You two… know each other?" He asks, his voice full of distain.

I roll my eyes and release his arm while Carter lets out a low laugh. "Well kind of. I just met him a couple of minutes ago in Madam Malkin's. Why?"

This time he grabs my arm and pulls it, dragging me toward Madam Malkin's. "We are leaving now."

Ginny is outside waiting for us with a smile on her face. She holds out her arms and we each take one, disapperating back to Grimmauld Place with a loud _POP_.

Once we land back at the new house, James stomps up the stairs with his broom clenched tightly in his hand. I follow behind, Harriet's cage in my hand, robes on my arm, and my wand out levitating my books up the stairs in front of me. Once I get up to my room, I put all my books away and set Harriet's cage down by my bed then go and open up my closet door to put my robes away, only find it full of clothes. _I'm going to have to remember to thank Mrs. Potter for everything..._

I lie down on my back on top of my bed and pull out my wand, flicking it above me and muttering, "Avis." A small flock of birds appear over my head.

This is one of my favorite charms as it reminds me of the field back home. When I wasn't able to escape to my field I would sit in my room and watch the birds fly around me._ I miss my field so much…_

Suddenly my bedroom door bursts open, with a very angry looking James standing in the opening.

I roll my eyes at him and stare at the birds above my head as I say, "Thanks for knocking. Oh please, come in."

He ignores my sarcasm and angrily says, "You need to stay away from Carter. He's dangerous."

**James' POV**

"_You need to stay away from Carter. He's dangerous."_

Ariana shakes her head and nonchalantly says, "Your problems with him are not my concern. I can be friends with whomever I please." She is staring at a flock of birds flying around over her bed. _What's with the bloody birds?_

"Look, don't be a prat. Just stay away from him!" I say, my voice slightly rising at the end.

She sits up angrily, her eyes narrowed at me. "Excuse me? Who are you calling a prat?!" She may not know much of the slang here, but she knows enough to know I've insulted her. "Your little girl drama isn't my problem! You do NOT dictate who I do and don't get to be friends with!" She says, her voice rising at the end as well.

"Ugh. You know what? Fine…" I say as I turn to leave and, just to upset her, I look back at her and add, "Prat."

"Ex_cuse_ me?! You know what?! OPPUGNO!" She points her wand at me at the last word.

Suddenly the flock of small birds she had been watching shoot at me at an extreme speed. I shut the door just as the birds are about to hit me, letting out a sigh of relief. I'll admit, I probably shouldn't have called her a prat, especially not the second time, but Carter is bad news! His father is a very well-known Death Eater. It wouldn't be safe for her to even talk to him...

Mum calls us all downstairs for dinner and, when I get downstairs, I notice dad is missing. "Where's dad?"

"He got called in to work. He won't be home until tomorrow evening." Mum says while setting the table.

Everybody else comes down and silently sits at the table. I rush through dinner, inhaling whatever was set in front of me and put my plate in the sink before running upstairs to my room.

We had spent ALL DAY at Diagon Alley and it is taking its toll on me. I close my eyes and lie back on my bed, completely exhausted. I am almost completely asleep when I hear a light rapping on my door.

I sigh, not bothering to open my eyes as I yell, "Who is it?"

"Death..." The voice sounds like Ari's, but I have no idea what she's talking about.

"What?" I ask incredulously.

"Get it? Death knocking at your door? Never mind… It's Ari. Can I come in?"

"Yea, sure." I sit up on my bed and cross my legs as she walks in. "You're not going to shoot anymore birds at me are you?"

She laughs and a blush rises in her cheeks. "No... By the way, I'm really sorry about that. I feel absolutely awful."

I chuckle and say, "Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have called you a prat. I'm sorry about that."

She nods her acceptance of my apology and smiles as she crosses the room and sits on the end of my bed, legs crossed, and looks at me. "Why is Carter so bad?"

_I'M NEVER GOING TO GET TO SLEEP! _I think to myself.

"His father is a very well-known Death Eater. Which is not a good thing; Death Eaters don't get to be well known by saving children and donating time to charity, just saying." I lie back down on my bed, head on my pillow, legs still crossed. I pull my loose blanket over me. _Maybe she will take the hint that I'm tired and leave…_

I hear her readjusting at the bottom of my bed. "Okay? So let me get this straight, his father is bad, which makes him bad as well?"

I sigh. She's obviously not going to drop this and I'm obviously NEVER going to get to sleep. Honestly, this girl is going to be the death of me! Has anyone ever died from a lack of sleep before? "Carter isn't a very nice guy either. He bullies a lot of the younger kids at Hogwarts and he makes sure that people know who his dad is. He brags about it to everyone. He's a real git."

I look down at her face to see her reaction and see that she has her eyes closed. She is lying on her side with one arm under her head; it was probably holding her head up at one point but now it's lying flat underneath her head. The cheek that is resting against her arm is squished up, giving her a chubby face on that side. She is curled up; legs pulled up near her chest. She lightly giggles, eyes still closed as she says, "Is that your answer for everything; to insult people? He seemed nice! Maybe he has changed."

I smile and say with a laugh, "I only insult the people who really annoy me."

At that her eyes dart open. She opens them just in time to see me wink. She wrinkles up her nose with a smile and closes her eyes again so I continue. "Just think about what I said. I can't stop you from being friends with him, but please think about everything I told you. Mum and dad would be bloody pissed if anything happened to you, especially if I was able to stop it… Ari? Ariana?" _This girl is asleep!_

I pull my blanket off of myself and cover her with it. I lie back down and pull my bed covers over me, careful not to wake her up. Normally (not that this happens on a daily basis or anything) I would wake her up or move her to her room myself, but she currently resides on the fifth floor and I'm way too tired to do anything right now. So I let her stay at the end of my bed, close my eyes and drift off to sleep.


	14. Just Another Day in Paradise

**Just Another Day in Paradise**

**Ari's POV**

I slowly open my eyes to a blurry world. I blink a couple of times and rub my eyes, trying to rub the blurriness away, and I realize that I'm lying on something. I quickly sit upright and I look down at what I was laying on, laughing as I take it in. I had been lying on my arm all night, which had caused it to fall asleep, which is why I couldn't feel that it was my own arm. _Only you Ari, only you…_

I lie back down and stretch my arms above my head. I arch my back and stretch my legs out, pointing my toes as a small noise, very similar to one that a dinosaur would make, escapes my lips. I stifle a laugh and finish my stretch. Now that I'm more awake, I'm beginning to register that this isn't my room. _Why am I at the bottom of the bed? And whose blanket is this? It looks familiar…_

I quickly jolt upright again and look at the top of the bed, my eyes widening when I realize where I am. Lying at the top of the bed is a sleeping, drooling James Potter. I crawl up to the top of the bed and pull a pillow out from under his head, smacking him in the head with it. "Shit, James! Why didn't you wake me up?"

His oh-so-intelligent response consists of grunts and groans while looking around the room in a daze. I smack him in the face with the pillow again.

He sits up and glares at me. "Piss off! I'm trying to sleep!"

I laugh, rolling my eyes at him and saying, "Nice. Stay classy there James. But seriously, why didn't you wake me up last night? I would have gone back to my room!"

He sighs. "Can I have my pillow back please?" I toss it back to him and he puts it over his head. As I get up to leave, he lifts the pillow off his head and says "Sorry…"

I look back at him. He actually looks sincere, even a little bit nervous... I smile and say "It's alright... Just came as a bit of a shocker to wake up in here." Then I turn back to the door and walk out. I run back up to my room and shut my door before quickly grabbing some fresh clothes and going to take a shower. I turn on the water and get undressed as I wait for the water to warm up.

**James' POV**

I open my eyes slowly and look down. She is still sleeping at the end of my bed in the same exact position as when she first fell asleep. She looks calm, almost peaceful as she sleeps. It's actually a bit cute... _Whoa now! Cute? What was __**that**__? That's got to stop right now…_

I close my eyes and lie back down, not quite ready to face the world yet. A couple of minutes after I lay my head down, I feel the pillow under my head being yanked out from under me. It comes back down and hits me in the face, followed by, "Shit James! Why didn't you wake me up?"

I look around the room, feeling disoriented and making weird grunting and groaning noises. I may have only been asleep for a few moments, but it has still, clearly, affected me. She smacks me in the face with my pillow once again so I sit up and glare at her for a moment, then say, "Piss off!"

She follows my anger with a laugh and says, "Nice. Stay classy there James. But seriously, why didn't you wake me up last night? I would have gone back to my room!"

Um, because we were having a conversation and you fell asleep in the middle of it? How about the fact that you chose a room on the fifth floor, making it completely unappealing to carry you up to your room? Or maybe it's because you looked kind of cute sleeping? _Merlin's beard! Cute again? What the bloody hell is wrong with me?_

I let out a sigh and ask, "Can I have my pillow back please?" She tosses my pillow back to me and I put it over my head. I'm sure that I'm blushing and I REALLY don't want her to see that… I hear her getting off my bed. I lift my pillow up off my head and say with a nervous smile, "Sorry…"

I really am sorry for letting her sleep in my room. I didn't realize it would be such a big deal! It's not like anything happened...

She turns back to me with a smile and says, "It's alright. Just came as a shocker to wake up in here." She leaves the room. I pull the pillow against my face and groan. _What is happening to me? Why was I nervous? I don't get nervous, especially in front of girls! What the hell?_

I get out of bed and change clothes. As I'm getting dressed, my stomach grumbles. _Curse my insatiable hunger! _I know mum will already be at work so I'm on my own for breakfast. I go next door to Al's room and walk in, noticing there is a note on his bed. I walk over and pick up the note.

_James,_

_Teddy is spending the day with Victoire and I'm spending the day at Lorcan's and Lysander's today._

_Oh and mum took Lily to work with her. And by work I mean the Puddlemere United/Holyhead Harpies quidditch match. She said she will bring us all back Harpies sweaters. _

_I will be back tonight._

_-Al_

I put the note in my pocket. It looks like it's just me and Ari in the house today. Dad is at work until later tonight, which means things at the ministry must be bad, especially if he had to stay there overnight. My stomach grumbles again, reminding me why I got out of bed in the first place. I walk downstairs and look in the fridge. I see that we have some eggs, so I decide that I am going to make egg on toast. _Ariana is probably hungry too. I should ask her if she wants me to make her breakfast too._

I walk back upstairs, up all five flights, and knock on Ari's door.

"Gimmie a sec!" She yells.

I stand outside her door and, a couple of seconds later, she comes to the door. She is in white skinny jeans, a blue shirt, and grey boots. She is rubbing a towel through her wet, blonde hair as she answers the door. "What's up?"

"It's just us in the house today, so we are on our own for breakfast," I explain, "I'm going to make egg on toast. Do you want some?"

"Sounds delicious!" She says with a grin. "I'll be down in a sec. I have to do my hair really quick."

**Ari's POV**

I shut my bedroom door and toss my towel on the ground. I grab my wand and use the hot-air charm, causing hot air to blow from the end of my wand, and point it at my head to dry my hair. After my hair has been styled, I walk over to the mirror in my bathroom and check to see if I look alright. _I don't know why it matters; I'm not going to get to leave the house today anyways… _I smile to myself in the mirror then walk downstairs.

I walk into the kitchen and James hands me a plate of egg on toast. Egg on toast is a square of toast with a fried egg on it and four small, triangular slices of toast around it. I sit down at the table and take a bite. "Oho! I didn't know you could cook!"

He laughs. "When you're always hungry, you learn to cook for yourself. Thank Merlin I don't have to do it often! I just visit the kitchen when I'm at Hogwarts; the house elves do all the cooking there and they are more than willing to give away the extra food if you're nice to them."

"So this means you won't be cooking for me at Hogwarts?" I say with a grin as I take another bite.

He laughs again. "No, although you will probably wish I did. The elves cooking doesn't even compare to mine!" He sits down at the table with his food and starts eating his food. "You're right! I AM a brilliant chef!"

I get up to put my plate in the sink and roll my eyes with a laugh. "Alright now… Let's not get crazy! It's fairly easy to fry up an egg and toast some bread." I look over at him and stick out my tongue.

He laughs at me and then a serious expression sets on his face. "By the way Ariana, I think I should tell you who Carter's dad is. It might help you to-"

I cut him off, shaking my head adamantly. "It doesn't matter who his dad is! I am a big girl; I can take care of myself. He seems alright, but if he steps out of line I will let you know, if that will make you feel better. Now, are you done with your plate?"

He nods and brings it to me. "Just watch your back with him, alright? I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I?" I ask him with an arched eyebrow and a smile.

His eyes widen and he quickly, and loudly, corrects himself. "WE. WE don't want anything to happen to you. WE! As in me and my family! I'm, uh… I'm going to go upstairs…" He turns and quickly walks up the stairs, clearly nervous.

I chuckle at his reaction and make a mental note to do things like that more often. I thoroughly enjoy watching him squirm like that.

James spends the rest of the day avoiding me, robbing me of any more chances to embarrass and unnerve James, much to my displeasure. Ginny and Lily came home with quidditch sweaters for everyone, including me, and Harry came home from work at around dinner time with great news.

"Ariana, I talked to the Minister today, and he's cancelled your hearing. He says that there are bigger issues right now so you are off the hook."

I look at him and flash him a smile so big, it practically takes up my entire face. Now all that I had ahead of me was going to a new school on Monday. Only three days left…


	15. Train Rides

**Train Rides**

**James POV**

It has been a fast two days. It's now Sunday night and I'm finishing up my last minute packing for school. Normally I would just use the packing spell, but I'm still trying to avoid Ari. I don't know what it is, but something about that girl unnerves me. I've never been nervous around girls before, so why did things suddenly change when she came into the picture? I'm James freaking Potter, for Merlin's sake!

I only have a few more things to pack and then I'm going to go to sleep. I pack my last few books, along with my father's invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map that dad doesn't know I've nicked from him, and sigh as I realize I'm finally finished.

I lay out my robes for tomorrow and turn off my lights, stumbling across my dark room until I find my bed. I crawl into bed and close my eyes and fall instantly asleep, completely exhausted from my day of packing.

_The moon is high in the midnight sky, stars twinkling above my head. I am surrounded by trees and tall plants. It looks as though I'm in the Forbidden Forest. I hear howling in the distance and hooves stomping on the ground nearby. This place is almost serene, if it weren't for the fact that I know how dangerous it is._

_The placidity of the forest, however, is interrupted by a high pitched scream. I twist my head in the direction of the sound, trying to find its source. I hear the shrill noise again, this time followed by a male voice chuckling._

_The voice says while chuckling, "Scream all you want little orphan, nobody is coming for you."_

_The girl screams again, this time sounding more desperate. I pull out my wand and run toward the screaming; whoever this girl is, she needs my help. I trip over roots, slip on loose dirt, and cut my arms on low hanging branches as I try to find the girl, but I continue._

_I get to a large clearing in the middle of the forest and, at the center of the clearing, is Andrew Cass, Carter Cass's father, and Ariana. Both have wands in hand and are yelling spells at each other. Ariana has dried blood in a section of her long blonde hair. Suddenly Cass catches Ari off guard and yells "Expelliarmus!"_

_Ari's wand flies out of her hand and into his. He sneers at her, holding her wand up in triumph, and says, "What are you going to do now little orphan? You're unarmed!"_

_He hits her with a spell that knocks her back, flat against the ground. She clutches her stomach and gasps for air, the hit apparently knocking the wind of her. Cass walks over, taking advantage of her momentary weakness, and crouches down, getting right in her face and whispering something to her, to which she responds by turning and spitting in his face. He backhands her, blood flying out of her mouth, and rises up. She rolls over onto all fours and spits blood out of her mouth, her blonde hair spotted with blood flecks from the smack. Cass looks at her trying to recover and kicks her in the stomach so forcefully it knocks her over onto her back again. Her face is full of pain as she once again clutches her stomach. He then kicks her in the head, knocking her unconscious and creating a large bloody wound on the side of her head._

_The sight of her limp, unmoving body is too much for me. I raise my wand to curse the Death Eater when Carter appears from out of the shadows of the forest._

"_Not so fast, pretty boy."_

_He lifts up his wand and hits me with the petrificus totalus spell. My arms lock against my body and my legs lock together. I hit the ground with a thud, eyes facing the clearing and an unconscious Ari. She looks so helpless…_

_Cass slowly walks toward her, wand at the ready. His mouth twists into a gruesome sneer as he flicks his wand and says, "Imperio!"_

_Suddenly her eyes snap open and she looks directly at me, her eyes full of terror and pain. She clenches her teeth then her mouth opens and she says, "James..."_

_I try to will myself toward her, to help her and comfort her, but nothing happens. Cass hits her again with an Imperio spell, her will to fight it being too strong the first time._

_Ariana's eyes open wider as she yells "James? James! JAMES!"_

My eyes dart open and I sit upright in complete shock. I look up and see Ari sitting on the end of my bed; a huge grin on her face as she jumps up to the top of my bed and tackles me. "James! Get up! Today is the day we leave for Hogwarts!" she says, excitement filling her voice. I wrap my arms around her and give her a big hug, momentarily forgetting my goal of avoiding her. How can this face of sheer excitement be the same pain filled face I saw in my dream just moments before?

She laughs. "This is NOT the reaction I expected! What happened to '_Piss_ _off! I'm trying to sleep!'_? Is everything okay?"

I smile and release her from my hug, staring at her face. "Everything is perfect. I'm just really excited to go to Hogwarts, that's all."

She looks at me, eyes full of concern, and nods. "Are you sure? You are all sweaty… It's kind of gross actually…" She puts her hand on my head and pulls away, wiping the sweat from my forehead on my blanket. She smiles again, her face full of excitement and joy as she hops off my bed.

"Your mom says we are leaving in fifteen minutes, so get your butt up and get ready!" Ari says as she walks out of my room. I try to shake the image of her pain-filled face from my mind and sit up. I silently promise myself that I won't ever allow anything to put that look on her face, then get up and get ready.

**Ari's POV**

Not even James' strange behavior this morning was going to distract my excitement for my first day at Hogwarts. I walk up to my room and hastily collect all my stuff before opening the door and levitating my stuff down the stairs. I sit on the couch and wait for James, Teddy and Al to come down the stairs, my legs bouncing in my excitement.

Ginny walks in and sits next to me. "I don't know if I told you, but you will be going in with the first years tonight. You need to be sorted, which means you have to stay with the first years for the night."

I nod to her, not really listening to what she's saying. Instead, I'm thinking about what sorts of classes I'll be taking.

She stands up and walks to the bottom of the stairs, cupping her hands over her mouth as she yells, "James! Teddy! Al! Get down here, it's time to go!"

Teddy walks down the stairs first, his chest and owl levitating in front of him, and is followed by Al, who is trying to carry all of his things down the stairs. I get up off the couch and go help him.

"Thanks Ari. I don't know why I didn't just levitate my things down the stairs… That would have been much easier…" He says as he sets his stuff down and sits on the couch. Finally James walks down the stairs. He has his broom in one hand and his wand in the other and is levitating his stuff as well.

Ginny rushes us out of the house and into two separate cabs. She tells James and Teddy to get into the first cab then leans forward and tells the cabbie to drive to Kings Cross station.

The cab pulls away so she walks to the second cab and tell me and Al to get in. She slides in after Al and I are in our seats and tells this cab driver the same thing she told the other. Our cab pulls away from the curb and drives to the train station.

Once we get to the train station, Ginny rushes us out of the cab and puts all of our luggage onto carts and leads us to meet up with Teddy and James. When we meet up with the guys, Ginny tells us to follow her to platform nine and three quarters. She looks to Teddy and tells him to go ahead; something about his prefect duties then tells me to watch him so that I know how to enter the platform. I watch him line up at the pillar between platform nine and ten and run toward it at full speed. Just as I think he is about to run into the pillar, he passes through it unscathed. Al goes next, followed by James then, finally, t's my turn next. I grip my luggage cart tightly, knuckles white, and sprint at the pillar.

Even though I just saw the guys go through the wall unharmed, I can't help but tense up as I get closer to the wall. I burst through the other side of the pillar to find another train station, except this one is full of witches and wizards. On the tracks is a crimson red train with black lining. On the front, above the light, are the words HOGWARTS EXPRESS written in gold lettering. My mouth drops as I take in my surroundings.

Ginny touches my arm, pulling me out of my exploration. "Come here sweetheart, come give me a hug. You too boys!"

I walk over to Ginny and give her a big hug, quietly saying, "Thank you for everything Mrs. Potter. I really appreciate it all.

She smiles and nods to me before letting me out of our hug and grabbing Al. She wraps him in a big hug then releases him, finally looking to James and saying, "Jamie get over here."

He walks over sheepishly, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment. "Mom! You know I hate that name…" She laughs and pulls him into a tight hug, ignoring his embarrassment.

After we've all given Ginny hugs we board the train. As I walk down the aisle, I hear a familiar voice say, "Ariana! Why don't you sit in here with me?"

I look over to see Carter sitting in the compartment next to me, pointing to the seat across from him. Just as I'm about to respond, James walks up behind me and grabs my arm and, before pulling me away, he looks at Carter and says, "She will be sitting with us, thank you very much."

I look at Carter and mouth the words "I'll visit you later" to him, to which he responds with a nod and a grin.

I follow James to a compartment in the back of the train and put my stuff up. I sit down across from James and pull out _Hogwarts: A History. _While I flip through the book I say, "That was rude. There was no need to treat him like that."

He scoffs at me, causing me to look up from my book and see that he is looking at me with a strangely; a mix between anger and sadness, and says, "I already told you, I don't trust him. And after last night… Look. I just don't trust him. Let's leave it at that, okay?"

I look back at my book and continue flipping through the pages. "Okay…"

Al walks into the compartment and sits next to James. "Lorcan and Lysander say hi. They said they would visit later." Al looks at me and says, "Really? You're already studying? I didn't realize you were so lame!"

I laugh and stick my tongue out at him before picking up on page two hundred and fifty, right where I left off last night.

The train lurches, signifying the start of our trip to Hogwarts and I can't help but feel excited for upcoming year. From what I've read, the school is legendary. There was even a huge battle fought at it only a couple of years ago. _I can't wait to see this place!_

I sit in silence as I delve further into my book.

**James' POV**

I look at Ariana, who is frivolously reading _Hogwarts: A History_, then at Al who is sleeping next to me. We've been on the train for a bit now and I'm starting to get hungry. Suddenly I get a brilliant idea. I've wanted to tell Al about my dream for a bit and now I have the perfect excuse to get Ari out of the booth so I can tell him. "Hey Ari? I'm starting to get really hungry. Can you go to the trolley and get me some chocolate frogs and Bertie Bot's Every Flavour Beans?"

She looks up from her book and nods, gently placing a marker in the book to show where she's stopped. I hand her a bit of money and she stands up, gesturing to Al as she says, "Should I get anything for sleeping beauty?"

I laugh and shake my head so she smiles at me then leaves the compartment. The moment she's gone I turn and shake Al's shoulder to wake him up.

"W-what? What do you want?" he asks groggily.

"Wake up, you prat! I've got something I need to tell you and we don't have long!" I yell, still shaking his shoulders.

He sits up and rubs his eyes while letting out a yawn. "Alright I'm awake! No need to insult me! What's wrong?"

"I had a dream about Ariana last night and it's left me thinking I'm completely mental…"


	16. Instigation and Confrontation

**Instigation and Confrontation**

**Ari's POV**

I walk up toward the front of the train, passing a multitude of students as I look for the trolley. When I finally find the trolley, I end up buying James some chocolate frogs and some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. As I turn to head back to our compartment, arms full of candy, I hear, "Feeling a bit hungry are we?"

I turn toward the voice and find Carter leaning against the door to his compartment nonchalantly. I let out a laugh and shrug my shoulders as I say, "Well I am a growing girl!"

He chuckles, offering out a helping hand. "At least let me help you carry some of that back!"

"And risk you stealing some of it? I don't think so!" I say with a laugh, pulling the candy against my chest and scrunching up my nose.

He puts his hand on his chest and feigns offense. "Ariana, you cut me deep! I would never steal your food! Now if it were James' food that would be a different story."

"What is the problem with you two? Why don't you guys like each other? What happened with you guys?" The question comes out before I even have time to think it through.

He shrugs casually. "He's just never liked me; something about my dad. I've never really been positive though. I bet he's forbade you from talking to me, huh? He'd probably be really upset that you're talking to me now, right?"

I laugh at how well he knows James and nod. "Actually, yes he has and yes he would. But I'm a big girl; I can handle myself, so he's just going to have to get over it now, won't he?"

He raises his eyebrows and holds his hands up as he loudly says, "Look out! We've got a rebel over here!"

I roll my eyes and laugh, shaking my head as I say, "Well, I've got to go now. A hungry boy is a cranky boy! I will see you at Hogwarts though."

**James' POV**

Al looks a bit concerned. "So… Does Ariana know that Carter's dad is-"

"No. She didn't want to hear anything about it. She doesn't care who his dad is." I say with a grimace.

He looks at me with wide eyes. "Well she would probably feel differently if she knew that his dad was the same Death Eater who-"

"I KNOW! I know… And I'm definitely going to try to tell her again, but I can't now. And I am going to need your help when I do finally tell her."

He nods, grinning as he says, "You can count on me! I've got you back for sure!"

**Ari's POV**

I open the compartment door and hand James his candy and change with a smirk. "I looked like a fat ass walking through the train, you know. You owe me."

He and Al laugh at me and plunge into their candy, only pausing every few seconds to breathe. I pick my book back up and dive right back into my book, which really helped the time to pass quickly.

It feels like only minutes later when the train jerks to a stop. I look up from my book and see that it is dark outside. _Wow… I must have been reading for hours!_ I look across from me and see James and Al asleep under a pile of candy boxes and wrappers. I laugh and walk over to wake them up.

Many insult filled minutes later, James and Al are finally awake. We grab all of our stuff and head off the train. Over the crowd I hear, "FIRS' YEARS OVER HERE!"

I grab James and Al by the shoulder and grin as I say, "I guess this is where we go our separate ways. See you two later, hopefully!"

I head over to the river with a bunch of small children and see a VERY large man with a bushy black beard is standing at the front. I walk up to him and ask, "Is this where the first years are meeting?"

He looks down at me and replies, "Yes it is, though you don' look like an eleven year ol'. What's yer name?"

"I'm Ariana Brighton. I'm transferring here from Salem Academy. I think Ginny told me I needed to go into the school with the first years?"

He laughs a big, booming laugh. "OH! Yer the American witch who is stayin' with the Potters! I'm Hagrid. I'm the groundskeeper here at Hogwarts. You will need to be sorted into a house, so jus' wait here with the firs' years. We'll be going in soon."

After a bit of waiting around, we get onto some small row boats and head to the castle. Once we row into view of the castle, I'm completely awestruck. The enormity of the grounds is mind blowing and all the windows are emitting light, giving the castle a faint glow that makes the magic of the school almost seem visible.

We pull up to the shoreline and get out of the boats. Hagrid brings us into the entrance of the school and tells us to wait then leaves us alone. Finally, after waiting for what felt like forever, a tall, slender man with long, brown hair and green robes walks out to us.

"Greetings first years! Welcome to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I am Professor Roberts. I am the Head of the Gryffindor house as well as the Muggle Studies professor here at Hogwarts. Here at Hogwarts, we have four houses..." He continues to tell us about the different houses at Hogwarts and their histories.

After the explanation of each house, he concludes with, "Now, follow me so we can get you sorted into your new houses! The house you get sorted into will be your house for the next seven years, so get to know everyone in the house well; they will also be your family for the next seven years."

He leads us into the great hall, through the rows of tables, where I see James and flash him a nervous smile.

Professor Roberts puts a small wooden stool on the steps at the front of the great hall then takes a dingy looking hat and puts it on top of the stool. He then pulls out a long list and loudly says, "Let's begin! Aberthy, Chrispus!"

A stout boy with bright blonde hair walks up to the stool and sits down, and Roberts places the hat on his head. The boy sits there for only a moment before the hat yells out, "RAVELCLAW!"

The great hall erupts into applause as the boy get off the stool and goes to sit at a table that I'm assuming is filled with his fellow Ravevnclaws. This sorting continues in alphabetical order until, finally, we get to the last person.

Professor Roberts folds up the lists and calls out, "Zipporah, Alanna!"

A girl with short black hair walks up and sits on the stool. Professor Roberts had barely put the hat on her head when it yells out, "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table cheers and claps for their newest member as she runs to sit at their table. Then Professor Roberts turns to the students in the Great Hall. "I would like to introduce a new fifth year to our school. She is joining us all the way from our Salem Academy for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please welcome Miss Ariana Brighton to the school!" He looks at me and says, "Miss Brighton, if you could please take a seat on the stool so we can sort you."

I hesitantly walk up to the stool and sit, my face a bright red. I see Al and Carter at the Slytherin table and give them both an embarrassed smile. Then Professor Roberts puts the hat on my head and it begins.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?"

_I don't know… What do we have here?_

"You are meant for greatness my dear, greatness indeed."

_Yeah, okay… Pretty sure that's not true… How about we just get to the sorting?_

The hat chuckles. "You are a feisty one Miss Brighton; you have a certain fire about you. You have a thirst for knowledge that would work well in Ravenclaw, but you are full of courage, loyalty and bravery. All the things Gryffindors are made of. You would do well there... Hm… Where to put you..."

Finally, the hat's decision echoes throughout the silent Great Hall. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table cheers and claps for me as I walk down to the table. James points to a spot next to him, so I sit. "Congrats on making it into Gryffindor!" James says as he leans over and gives me a hug. I'm pretty sure I see a girl glaring at me as we hug.

Professor Roberts takes a seat behind a long table at the front of the Great Hall, and a tall, thin woman in a long, black cloak stands up and claps her hands, causing platters upon platters of food appear in front of us. "Now that the sorting is finished, let's enjoy the feast!"

I pour myself a glass of pumpkin juice and put some food on my plate. I look over at James who is trying to inhale his food and stifle the urge to laugh. _How can that boy be hungry? He ate TONS of candy on the train!_

He turns his head and says with a mouthful of food "Wha'? I'm 'ungry!" He quickly swallows his food and leans over, getting right next to my ear and whispering, "You better eat up. We're going exploring tonight. It's no fun exploring on an empty stomach…"

His warm breath sends shivers down my spine and I can't help but grip the table tightly to steady myself. He winks at me then resumes inhaling his food.

I look around and realize that someone is, indeed, glaring at me. In fact, quite a few girls are..._ What the hell?_

**James POV**

I really don't remember the food being this good last year… I am piling the food high on my plate and stuffing it in my mouth at the same time. I can hear Ariana next to me snickering, but I don't even care. I look over at the Slytherin table and see Al sitting next to Carter. Al is eating almost as much food as I am, while Carter is intently staring at Ari. This irritates me extensively. How can he ever think he has a possibility of being her friend? How could he ever think I would let that happen?

As I stuff a piece of toast in my mouth, one of the girls across from me asks "So James, how was your summer? Did anything interesting happen?" I look up and all the girls at the table are staring at me intently. _Man it's good to be back!_

I look over to Ari, who is eating her food and reading her book again and, knowing that I'm about to aggravate her, I say, "I saved a girl this summer. She was absolutely helpless until I got there..."

All the girls at the table look at me and unanimously say "Aw!"

I sneak a glance at Ari and realize that either she must not have heard me or she is doing a great job of hiding her irritation. Either way, I turn to her and say, "Isn't that nice Ariana?"

She responds without looking up from her book. "Isn't what nice, James?"

"Isn't it nice that I saved a helpless girl from a couple of Death Eaters his summer? Though I'm pretty sure the girl is in love with me now..." I smirk at her, waiting for the explosion.

She continues to read her book as she casually says, "Jamie, that sounds like quite a dream! You are going to have to tell me more about it later tonight!" I see a slight smile play on her lips as she looks up. "Now if you would excuse me, I'm going to go finish reading in the common room where it's quiet and not so hostile..." She nods to the glaring girls across from her then nods to me before leaving, her book pinned to her chest. "Ladies. Jamie."

I look at my plate and smile. _Well played Ariana, well played…_ I look back up and see Carter get up from his table and follow Ari out of the Great Hall.

I get up from the table, determined to prevent him from even talking to Ariana, and look at the girls. "Would you ladies please excuse me? I'm not feeling right."

Monroe Quell, a brown haired beauty I dated my third year, gets up from the table as well. "Jamie, I can walk you back to the common room!" She wraps her arm around mine and walks with me. She's been trying to get back with me since we broke up last year. _Who could blame her? I'm quite the catch._

"Mon, how about we don't call me Jamie, ever. I can make it back to the common room on my own too." I coldly say to her, as I try to jerk my arm away from her. If I don't get rid of her now, I'm never going to catch up to Carter. What if he tries to hurt Ariana and I'm not there to save her?

Monroe tightens her grip on my arm and pulls me to a stop. "What? And let you hook up with that new blonde girl? Not going to happen."

"Monroe, I'm going to go take a massive shit. Unless you want to be with me during that, you'd better let go of my arm."

Her face twists from anger to disgust as she lets go of my arm and runs back to the Great Hall, yelling over her shoulder, "This isn't over, Jamie!"

Okay so I may have lied to Monroe about where I was going, but I know how girly she is and how gross she would find it. Plus I really needed her to go away so that I can follow Carter, though the following is easier than I thought because, as I walk around the corner of a corridor, I run directly into Carter.

He smirks at me and says, "Hello pretty boy…"


	17. Adventure Time

**Adventure Time**

**James' POV**

_He smirks and says "Hello pretty boy…"_

I glare at him, barely able to contain my hatred for him. "Carter… Where is Ari-"

He cuts me off, still smirking. "What happened to your little fan club? Did they finally figure out that you aren't worth following around anymore?"

I laugh, my eyes still narrowed at him. "Do I detect a pang of jealousy Cass? Could that jealousy be because no girl seems to want you?"

Carter's smirk turns into a scowl. "I would love to stay and play _who's the bigger ladies' man_ but I have a skinny blonde girl to find. I hear you want her to stay away from me? Good luck with that, Potter..."

His mention of Ari reminds me why I am out here in the first place. "Where is she?" I ask him through gritted teeth.

He narrows his eyes at me and his face gets dark. "Good luck finding her, pretty boy." He turns and walks away.

I wait until he has turned down another corridor then I sprint down sprint down a corridor on my left. _Where did she say she was going? Gryffindor common room! _I turn to the right and run up the stairs two at a time. As I run into the corridor that leads to the Gryffindor I run directly into someone.

I turn and look at the person. "Hey! Watch where you're-" I suddenly realize who I ran into. "Merlin's beard! Ariana!" I wrap her in a hug and spin her around, her blonde hair flying out around us.

"What the hell James? It's not that I'm not excited to see you too, but what exactly are you doing?"

I set her down and smile at her expression. She looks flustered, but she is also blushing. "Are you ready to go exploring?"

"I don't know…" She says hesitantly.

"It's just down to Hagrid's hut and then to the kitchen. Will you pretty please come with?"

Her resolve fades and she nods, slightly smiling. "Can I at least go change first? I am not going to be able to sneak around in these robes…"

I laugh and nod. "Come on, let's go get you changed."

**Ari's POV**

I was walking back to the great hall to find Teddy. I completely forgot to get the password before I left. So I have to walk all the way back to the great hall to get it. I'm really not looking forward to going back there either. That brown haired girl was giving me the stink eye the entire time I was in there. _I should ask James about that later… _I am about to round the corner onto the stairs when someone runs into me so hard they knock me over and send my book skittering away from me. _What the hell?!_

I get up and dust myself off as the other person rudely says "Hey! Watch where you're-" _I know that voice! _Suddenly I am in the air, spinning around.

I can't help but laugh as I say, "What the hell James? It's not that I'm not excited to see you too, but what exactly are you doing?"

He sets me down and smiles. He can obviously see that I'm blushing, which is NOT okay. I don't want him to know that I might like him... _That would make living at his house really awkward..._

"Are you ready to go exploring?" He asks coyly.

I'm really not sure if that's a good idea. If I get caught, I will have made a name for myself on my first night. That is _not_ my idea of a good time… "I don't know…"

He tries to reassure me by telling me where we are going to go. "It's just down to Hagrid's hut and then to the kitchen. Will you pretty please come with?"

I nod and give him a slight smile. "Can I at least go change first? I am not going to be able to sneak around in these robes…"

He laughs and nods. "Come on, let's go get you changed."

As he and I walk to the common room, we run into the brown haired girl who was glaring at me when I was in the Great Hall. When she sees me and James together, she loses it. "I thought you said weren't going to go hook up with blondie slag here! I thought you said you were going to go… to the bathroom!"

I look over at James and ask, "Slag?"

He gives me an apologetic look. "It's another way of calling someone a slut..."

I look at the girl with wide eyes, completely taken aback by her insult. "Um, uncalled for!"

James looks from her to me, and smiles. "Monroe, not now. How about you apologize to Ariana for unnecessarily calling her a slut and let us go on our way."

He then looks at me apologetically once again.

"Look, Monroe is it? Obviously James here is long since over you, so how about you stop being desperate, get the stick out of your ass and just go away!"

James' eyes widen and he smiles as Monroe's jaw drops. I flip my hair over my shoulder and storm past Monroe and her little clique, James following close behind.

"JAMES!" Monroe yells, sounding extremely upset. I laugh a little bit but continue walking and, when James catches up to me, I look over at him and see that he has a smile on his face and he is shaking his head.

"What?" I ask.

He laughs, raising an eyebrow at me as if I should know why he's smiling like an idiot. "You know you just had a row with one of the most popular girls in Gryffindor, right?"

"Hey! You're the ladies' man who dated that girl, who is bat-shit crazy by the way. Clearly you know how to pick them..." I say with a laugh.

We get to the portrait of the fat lady and James says, "Hippogriff Feather." The portrait swings open, revealing a large room full of red armchairs. There are stairs off to the left and stairs off to the right. He points to the stairs on the left and tells me, "Girls rooms are on that side. Go get changed so we can leave."

I nod and walk up the stairs, all the way to the fifth floor, and see my stuff sitting by a bed in one of the rooms on the left. I walk over to my trunk and quickly pick out a blue t-shirt, a pair of jeans and my blue converse. I hastily disrobe and change into my new, blue, outfit. Once I'm dressed I head back down the stairs to find that James has changed also.

He chuckles when he sees me. "Took you long enough! Were you _trying_ to find an outfit that would impress me? You could have picked something less… blue."

"Asshole…" I say with a laugh.

He places his hand over his chest and sighs. "I'm hurt, Ariana."

"Whatever! Let's go already! I want to do some exploring!"

He laughs and grabs my hand, pulling me out of the common room and into the hallway. We run past Monroe again, who is sitting where we left her, accompanied by her three snobby friends. James pulls me down a flight of stairs, through the big main doors and out into the open night. Once we get outside we stop running, but James continues to drag me.

"James! Where are we going?" I ask a bit breathlessly. If I knew the castle grounds better I would probably know where he was taking me, but since it is my first day I'm completely lost.

"You'll see! We're almost there, I promise!" he yells to me as he continues to pull me along. We run to the top of a hill and I can see a circular hut next to a large crop of some sort. A little bit further past that is a large arena.

I'm so distracted with the arena that I don't notice he's stopped abruptly in front of me so I run straight into him, pushing him down the hill. As he is falling, he grabs my arm and pulls me down too.

**James' POV**

"_You will see! We are almost there, I promise!" I yell to her._

I stop at the top of the hill so I can show Ari where Hagrid lives. Just as I turn to show her, she runs into me and pushes me down the hill! I try to reach around and find something to catch myself on but, instead, I find Ari's arm and end up pulling her down the hill too.

When I hit the bottom, I land flat on my back. I lay there, trying to regain my breath when Ari falls on my stomach, which really doesn't help my inability to breathe...

But we don't have time to waste! I have to get Ari to the quidditch pitch fast! I have something special planned for her tonight…


	18. Let the Pranking Begin

**Let the Pranking Begin**

**Ari's POV**

Alright, so my landing was less than graceful. I managed to fall directly on James' stomach and, while it may have cushioned my fall, it also knocked the wind out of him. I quickly get up and extend a helping hand to him, which he gratefully accepts before telling me to follow him. We walk past the circular hut and toward the giant arena. "I thought we were going to Hagrid's house and the kitchen. It looks like you are leading me to an arena…" I am starting to get suspicious…

"We are taking a detour. Just trust me!" He shouts back to me.

I shrug. _I guess I'm going to HAVE to trust him…_

As we walk, a tense silence fills the air, prompting me to make menial conversation. "So who was the woman who made the food appear?"

James looks back, as if to see if I'm joking, and sighs. "She's only the _Headmaster_ of Hogwarts! That's Headmaster McGonagall! Now stay close, we're almost there..."

We walk into the arena, which I see is a larger version of the quidditch field that the Potter's had in their back yard. I look at James, confused, and see he has a look of sheer delight on his face, which is odd since we are only at a quidditch field. He walks me out to the middle of the field and tells me to close my eyes; to which I agree and close them. That was my second mistake.

My first mistake was trusting James.

After only a couple of seconds of keeping my eyes closed, I hear James shout, "NOW!"

I open my eyes just as I flurry of black smoke surrounds me. My eyes widen with the thought that I am being ambushed by a group of Death Eaters again and, quite suddenly, I see red sparks flying at me. I hold up my wand and deflect the spell while rolling to the left, but the spell was just a distraction. My roll to the left was directly into a balloon (or what I'm going to believe is a balloon) full of a foul smelling liquid and, when the balloon hits me, the liquid inside completely douses my head.

"DIRECT HIT!" A voice from behind the smoke yells.

Then I hear James yell, "WELCOME TO HOGWARTS, AMERICAN!" followed by laughter from what sounded like three other people, all guys.

I begin to choke on the black smoke, falling into a flashback from the explosion. Hot tears escape my eyes and I stumble out of the arena, choking, crying and coughing. My tears aren't tears of sadness, but instead tears of anger. _If this is how James wants to play this, then it is so on…_

The moment I'm out of the arena, I fall onto the ground on my hands and knees and continue to cough violently, gasping between each cough in an attempt to fill my lungs with fresh air. When I've finally regained the ability to breathe again, I find my way back up into the castle. Once inside, I wander past the ghosts and up into the Gryffindor hallway.

I can hear someone coming down the same hallways as me, so I crouch behind one of the suits of armor in the hall, wanting to wait until I know who it is before I decide if I want to come out of the shadows or not. _If it's James, I'm going to murder him…_

I am about to jump out and kill James when I realize that it is not, in fact, him coming around the corner, though it is another familiar face."Oh! Hi Teddy…"

He points his wand at me and, in the most authoritative voice I'm sure he could muster, he asks, "Who is it? Who's there?"

"Whoa. Down boy." I say with a smirk, pushing the tip of his wand down with my finger.

He voluntarily lowers his wand the rest of the way and asks, "Ari? What are you doing out of bed? AND WHY IS YOUR HAIR THAT COLOR?!"

"OH MY GOSH! WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY HAIR?" I yell, my hands frantically weaving through the sticky mess on my head.

His eyes widen and he looks around in a panic. "Keep your voice down! You're not supposed to be out of bed after curfew! Now, what exactly ARE you doing out of bed?" he asks.

"Well James and I-" I start to explain.

He cuts me off. "I should have known James was involved. Let me guess. You were on the receiving end of one of his pranks?"

I nod tersely. _There were more people than just James though. "_Does he have a group that he pranks with?"

"Well… Yes. Why?" Teddy asks cautiously.

"Because, I plan on getting them ALL back since they were ALL there tonight. I'm not going to just take this sitting down. They have NO idea who they've just pranked." I determinedly retort.

"He pranks with Al, Lysander and Lorcan… I will make you a deal: If you can promise me you are going to prank them all well, then I will let you off the hook for tonight." He says with a grin.

"I'll do you one better. I can help you catch them out of bed next week. How's that?"

His grin widens. "I would be forever in your debt, Ari. No prefect has caught them out of bed yet!"

I let out a laugh and pat him on the arm. "Well then, I guess we have a deal!"

"By the way, how did you manage to stay hidden this long? The portraits are supposed to alert the prefects if they catch anyone out of bed. Plus there are ghosts and other prefects on every floor. How did you do it?" He asks curiously.

I chuckle and shrug my shoulders casually. "I'm really good at sticking to the shadows. I learned and perfected the art back at my old school. It also helps that I'm pretty small..."

"Oh… Okay. Well get to bed now." He says, ushering me toward the portrait of the Fat Lady.

I silently approach the portrait and say, "Hippogriff feather."

The portrait swings open revealing James and the other pranksters sitting in the chairs. Not wanting them to see me, I crouch into the shadows and slowly work my way toward the stairs on the left.

"Did the portrait just open?" I hear James ask. He gets up to check it out, but by the time he gets to the portrait it has shut, leaving no trace of my entrance into Gryffindor tower.

I continue to silently work my way upstairs, letting out a sigh of relief when I finally get to my room. I open the door and stop in my tracks when I see there are three girls sitting in my room too. I wave uncomfortably and say, "Hi! Um, I'm Ariana. You guys must be my roommates?"

They all just sit there, staring at me. I almost get offended, but then I remembered that my hair is a funky color. "What color is it? I haven't seen it yet."

One of the girls finally speaks. "It's… It's bright purple!"

"Damn it James!" I say aloud, the three girls still staring at me. Finally, the one who told me my hair color introduces herself.

"I'm Astoria Grasston." She has brown hair, put in a slender braid and her blue eyes are still glued to my purple hair. She is tan, with a slender nose and full lips. She points to the girl next to her and says, "This is Bella Cattertome."

Bella has a blonde bob haircut, grey eyes and tan skin with her thin lips set in a forced smile. Astoria points to the third girl and says, "That is Rachelle Abrams."

Rachelle has LONG caramel colored hair, with blue highlights scattered throughout and her brown eyes are staring at me intently. She has pale skin and slender lips that naturally curl into a smile.

I wave to the three girls and politely say, "It's nice to meet all of you. I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to have to excuse myself really quick. I need to check out James' handiwork." I smile to them before walking into the bathroom.

As soon as I enter the bathroom, my bright purple hair is the first thing I see. I strip down and get in the shower in the hopes that I might be able to wash the color out.

I get out of the shower and see that the purple is still there, but it doesn't look as dingy, it has more shine to it, which is a step in the right direction. I quickly pull it into a braid and walk out of the bathroom; my towel wrapped around me, and go to my chest at the end of my bed. I get out my pajamas and walk back to the bathroom to get dressed.

As soon as I'm dressed, I walk out of the bathroom and ask, "How much longer do you think you guys will be up? I want to go down to the common room and kill James, but if you guys are about to go to sleep then I will wait until tomorrow. I wouldn't want to disturb you guys."

They look at each other then back at me, all of them wearing a devilish grin. "Go ahead and kill him. We'll be up for a bit."

I smile my thanks to them, grab my wand and my potions book, and then walk out of the room. I walk down the stairs quietly, doing my best to stick to the shadows and, when I hear James and his friends are still in the common room, I continue to sneak down so I can eavesdrop on them.

"I don't know guys. She looked pretty scared when that spell was fired at her. Tell me again, why did we prank her?" The voice sounds like Al's.

_I HOPE YOU FEEL BAD ASSHOLE!_

James responds coyly. "I will admit, she did look scared, but she's a tough girl. She will get over it. We pranked her because she's new!"

_Damn straight I'm tough, you'll find out soon enough… Asshole…_

"Did the color bomb work? How long until it comes out?" says an unknown voice.

_Probably Lorcan or Lysander… _I think to myself.

James answers again, his amusement absolutely audible. "Heck yea it worked! It hit her square on the head! I think Uncle George told me that the color lasts about a week."

I had heard enough. I quietly walk down the rest of the stairs and into the common room, stopping when I get to one of the available study desks, and take a seat, slamming my potions book down in front of me.

All the boys look in my direction, though James is the one who speaks. "Ari! When did you come in?"

I lift up my gaze from the book in front of me and shift it to him, pretend confusion covering my face. "Come in? I've been in the entire night. I was up in my room dying my hair with my roommates. I decided to go with purple, what do you think? Wait, what are YOU talking about?"

_That's right asshole, I'm gonna screw with your head._

He looks at me, eyes full of confusion and disbelief. "Wait, What? We went to the quidditch pitch together! We pranked you there! You all saw her there, right? Lorcan, you even threw the color bomb!"

I let out a laugh, shaking my head in fake disbelief as I get up from the desk and head to the stairs. "Man James, you and your wild stories! I have NO idea what you're talking about! Well, I'm going to head off to bed... I'm exhausted! I will see you guys tomorrow!"

_Phase one of my prank complete…_

I hastily ascend the stairs and, when I walk into my room, I look at my new roommates and ask, "Have you three ever been pranked by James and his friends?" They all nod. "Would you like to help me get them back?" They smile and nod again.

I pull up a chair in front of them and excitedly say, "Okay, so here's the plan…"


	19. Plotting and Planning

**Plotting and Planning**

The girls and I are all sitting in our room talking, going over our plan again. It has been almost a full week since James and his friends pranked me, and today is the day we finally get back at them.

"You girls remember the plan, right? You know where to meet?" I ask my roommates for what is probably the fifth time today.

They laugh in unison. "Ari! We've been through this!"

"Let's just go over it one more time." I say glancing at our door. "First, I will give Christiana Corperatus a note, telling her to look in the DADA classroom at 8:10 so that she can find all the boys out of bed past curfew." I say quietly.

Astoria waves her wand at the door to our room, casting a silencing charm on it, then continues. "I will write Lorcan and Lysander a note that says James has a new prank planned and he needs them to meet him in the DADA classroom at 7:45."

Rachelle picks up where Astoria left off. "I will do the same thing Astoria is doing, but to Al."

Now it's my turn. "Then I will give James a note saying that we need to talk and for him to meet me in the DADA classroom at 8:00."

Bella chimes in this time. She seems eerily excited for this part of the plan. "Rach, Astoria and I will be hiding in some cupboards in the classroom at 7:35, waiting for the boys to show up. When Lorcan, Lysander and Al all get into the room at 7:45, we three will sneak out from inside the cupboards and hit them with a petrificus totalus spell. We will hide the boys and wait for you and James."

"Then I will meet James in the classroom at 8:00 and quietly hit him with a spell as well. We will then take the other three boys out of their hiding places and set them up so that they look as though they were talking. And before we leave we will hit them with a color changing curse, hopefully changing their hair color. Then we then high tail it out of there, back to the common room, leaving the rest up to Christiana." I finish, earning a nod from all the girls.

I smile to them. "Let's do this." The girls walk out of our room to go give out their notes, but I stay behind, still needing to do my hair for the day. I walk into the bathroom and look at it, trying to decide what I want to do with it. I sigh wistfully as I run my fingers through my hair, which is now back to its original strawberry blonde; I'm starting to miss that wild splash of color. _Maybe I will dye it another crazy color after tonight's prank… _I sigh again before putting it into a braid then grab my note for Teddy, along with my books for my first class, and leave my Gryffindor tower.

My schedule for this semester is really nice. I have two study periods, one first thing in the morning and one after lunch. I am going to need these since I have to take O.W.L.s this year. We didn't have anything like this back at my old school; we just took finals every year.

I walk down the stairs and through the corridor that leads to the great hall. I walk up to Teddy inconspicuously. "Meet me in the corridor in 10…"

He nods and I go sit down next to the girls, piling food on my plate as I talk. "Did your note deliveries go as planned?"

Rachelle laughs. "Well it was delivered, but Al was really suspicious. He couldn't figure out why James wouldn't just deliver it himself, so I had to make up some kind of excuse. I told him that James said he had a lot of teachers watching him closely since the quidditch pitch incident, so he needed someone else to deliver the note. He seemed less leery after that."

I smile and nod. Rachelle is really very creative. She doesn't like to admit it, but she is brilliant. She is a bit shy when you first meet her, but after knowing her for about a week she really opened up. She even helped me plan out this prank.

Astoria says "Lorcan and Lysander took the bait without any struggle. They really are rather daft."

I laugh, then look at Bella. "Are you ready for your job tonight?" Her lips curl up into a fiendish smile and she nods. I look over at Teddy, who is getting up towards the corridor then look to the girls and tell them I will be right back. I get up and walk out, following behind Teddy, and find him waiting for me by a suit of armor. I walk up to him and hand him a note, which basically explains that I am going to have another prefect find the boys since I don't want to cause a family feud. Before I can offer him any sort of explanation, James walks around the corner and interrupts us.

_Oh shit! I need to think quick… How am I going to get out of this?_ Suddenly I get a great idea. "Teddy, are you accusing me of being out of bed past curfew!? Do you have any proof?"

He looks at me confused, then sees James and understands. "Uh, um yes Ariana, I am accusing you of being out of bed past curfew. But I don't have any proof, so I guess you are off the hook. For now..." He then turns and walks away very stiffly.

_Teddy is an awful actor…_

James walks up to me with a confused smile. "What was all that about?"

I smile nervously and shrug. "He said he saw me out of bed past curfew last night, but since he can't do anything because he has no proof. Anyways, what are you doing later tonight?"

He gives me a puzzled look. "I was going to do the Ancient Runes homework. Why?"

I flash my most charming smile at him. "I actually need help with the Ancient Runes homework. Can you help me with it?"

"This isn't some plan to spend alone time with the most eligible bachelor at Hogwarts, is it?" he says smugly, nudging me with his shoulder.

"Not so much. I just know that you have high marks in Ancient Runes and I really need the help." I respond, rolling my eyes at him.

He laughs. "Okay, okay. Where do you want to meet?"

"I will meet you in the common room at 7:55."

He smiles. "It's a date!" Before I can protest, he walks away with a large smile on his face. As I walk back in, someone grabs my arm.

I spin around and see a blonde hair and a big smile. "Hey Carter! What's up?"

He smiles, his grey eyes full of joy. "Not much. What are you doing tonight?"

"Well, I already have plans with the girls," I say slowly, a slow smile spreading across my face as I add, "But how would you like to help me and the girls pull a little prank on James and his friends?"

He looks at me incredulously and then smiles. "I'm in. What are we doing to Potter and his friends?"

"Do you mind waiting here for just a second; I have to go do something really quick. I promise I will be right back." I say before I run back into the Great Hall. I walk over to the Hufflepuff table and hand Christiana the note telling her where to find the boys then I run over to the girls. I grab two rolls and say with a grin, "Phase two complete. And ladies, we now have a new player. I will fill you in later and fill you in."

I walk out of the great hall and toss Carter a roll. "Let's go have a chat."


	20. Sweet and Colorful Revenge

**Sweet and Colorful Revenge**

Carter and I walk along the outside of the quidditch pitch, slowly eating the rolls I took and talking about our plans for the night.

"So what exactly do you plan for me to do?" he asks with a mouthful of bread.

"Well, Rachelle didn't want to have to curse them and, now that we have you, she won't have to. I will have her keep watch while you help us with the actual prank." I say with a grin. We both lie down on the grass outside the arena and look at the sky.

He smiles as he watches the clouds drift overhead. "Good. They deserve everything they are going to get tonight. They prank people all the time without ever being caught or punished. Nobody dares fight back for fear that they will be pranked with more extreme pranks. They need to learn that they can't just go around pranking people willy-nilly."

I look over at him as he talks and see he has his arms pulled back, hands resting underneath his head. His blonde hair is lightly blowing in the wind and his grey eyes staring off into the distance as if remembering past events as he speaks. His lips articulate each word as it leaves his mouth, his face calm and serene as the sunlight basks on it.

He turns and grins at me as he says, "I really admire you for standing up for yourself."

I let out a small laugh and shrug my shoulders. "I just really can't stand bullies. Plus, I do enjoy pranking people."

He laughs loudly as he tears at a leaf he found nearby. "Oh Merlin! You sound like Potter!"

"Oh geez! I REALLY don't want that!" I say with wide eyes. He looks at me again, curiosity etched on his face.

"What?" I ask him cautiously, a blush rising in my cheeks. In an instant, it's as if all of my weaknesses and imperfections mar my body, the scars and wounds available for him to see and judge. I shift uncomfortably, raising an eyebrow at him when he laughs and shakes his head.

"Nothing, just trying to figure you out is all."

I roll my eyes and say, "Well good luck with that! It takes more than a day to figure me out, Carter Cass."

He lets out a sigh and looks at me with a smirk on his face. "Then I guess we will have to make this a regular thing." Before I can respond, he grabs my hand and pulls me up. "Follow me. I want to show you something." He pulls me along behind him as we walk into a forest.

"Carter! Where are you taking me?" I ask him with a laugh.

He responds by shaking his head and continues to pull me deeper into the forest. Suddenly we come across a large clearing with a tall wooden pole in the center of it. I let go of Carter's hand and walk in, looking around in disbelief. "What is this place?" I ask him, my eyes still exploring the clearing.

"I'm not sure... I found it my third year here at Hogwarts. It's so calm and quiet here, I absolutely love it. I come here when I need to escape." He says while looking around with a small smile on his face.

"Escape?" I turn and look at him. "Escape from what?"

He responds absentmindedly as he continues to look around the clearing. "Just when things get too stressful, like school, I can get away from it all when I come here. I'm probably going to be here a lot this year, what with O.W.L.s being this year and all." He walks over to the wooden post in the middle of the clearing and sits down, leaning back against it.

I walk over and sit down by him, leaning back against the post as well, and close my eyes as I rest my head back against the post. The wind lightly grazes my face and blows through my hair, causing it to whirl around my face. I smile and inhale the refreshing air, which smells of grass and wood. The smells remind me of the park back home which causes my smile to grow. I hear Carter chuckling next to me and I open my eyes to find him looking at me curiously and laughing.

"Alright, so you really enjoy nature?" He asks with a smile.

I can feel myself blush as I nod in response. "A bit, yes..."

He looks down at his watch and sighs as he gets up off the ground and extends his hand out to me. "We better get going to Divinations. We don't want to be late."

I accept it and let him help pull me up. As we walk out of the forest, he listens to me intently as I tell him about the park back home and, when we get out of the forest, we run toward the divinations tower.

When we finally get to the tower, we hurriedly walk into class together laughing and then split up to sit in our seats.

I take my seat next to James while Carter sits across the room by some Slytherin whose name I can't remember. I sneak a glance over at James and see that he is glaring daggers at Carter, while Carter sits in his seat looking smug. _Ugh boys…_

The rest of the day really flies by, which surprises me since I was sure my anticipation for the prank tonight would make the day feel like it crawled by. After my last class, I rush back to the common room to meet up with the girls, passing Carter on the way there. I point to him and say, "7:35. Don't forget!" He smiles and gives me a thumbs up.

I continue to the painting of the fat lady and quickly say "Hippogriff Feather."

"Sorry love, but that's not the password anymore." She says sweetly.

_Shit! What is the new password? Talking flora? No. Singing… SINGING! Singing fauna? No… Singing… Singing… MANDRAKE! That's it!_

"Singing Mandrake?" I ask hesitantly.

She smiles and the portrait swings open. I run into the common room and join the girls on the couch, immediately looking at Rachelle's watch which reads 7:28. I look at them and quickly fill them in on the new plan, the one involving Carter, smiling when Rachelle casts me a thankful glance when I tell her she won't have to be cursing anyone.

The clock hits 7:30.

I wish them all luck and tell them I will see them soon then wave to them as they walk out of the common room, leaving me to go to my room and get dressed.

I walk over to my chest and pull out a pair of white jeans, a purple shirt and my gray boots then I release my hair from the braid it's in, pulling out random pieces of grass from my adventure today with Carter. By the time I finish getting ready, it's now 7:50. I grab my Ancient Runes book, a quill, some parchment paper, and walk down the stairs into the common room, sitting on the couch and opening my book. I put my hand on my head, tangling my fingers in my hair, and try to concentrate, though not for long because, after only a minute, the portrait swings open and James enters the common room.

"Hey! You decided to get started without me?" He asks as he walks over and sits by me.

I smile at him and say, "I figured I would give it a shot on my own. To no avail though, I'm completely lost. Hopefully you can help me make sense of this..." He starts to open his Ancient Runes book but I stop him. "We are actually going to go somewhere else to do this. I get too distracted in here."

He puts his book away and stands up, helping me up too. "Is this your attempt at getting me alone somewhere?" He asks with a grin.

I roll my eyes and grab his arm, pulling him toward the portrait. "Just follow me, lover boy. We have studying to do."

As we walk out of the common room, I steal a glance at the clock. 7:57; I have three minutes to get us to the DADA room. _Good thing it's close by…_

We walk down the hallway for a bit, both silent until, James breaks the silence. "What happened to the purple hair? I quite fancied it." He grabs a lock of my hair and twirls it in his fingers. "Not that you're normal color isn't still great! The purple just made it easier to spot you..." He drops my hair and looks at me as he waits for me to respond.

I can feel the heat and color rising in my face as I say, "If you must know, the color came out. My roommates and I did a color-change spell on it, and the color wears off after about a week. But I am thinking about coloring it again."

He lets out a low laugh and asks, "What color are you going to pick?"

"I'm not really sure yet..." I say with a shrug.

He looks at me and winks. "Well whatever color you choose you will look brilliant. By the way, are you going to come to the quidditch game next week?"

I laugh, rolling my eyes, and say, "I don't know… Wouldn't my '_brilliant_ _hair'_ distract you from the game?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "I really hope you can make it."

We round the corner of the hall and walk into the DADA room. James sets his book and wand on one of the desks and takes a seat.

I remain standing, looking around at the cabinets that my friends are hiding in, and stifle the urge to laugh when I see one of the cupboard doors open slightly; a small smoke bomb rolling out in response. The smoke releases and begins to fill the room, causing James to look up, his eyes full of confusion as the smoke surrounds us.

I look at him and smirk as I say, "You're not the only one who can pull a prank, James…"

He jumps up and reaches for his wand, but I'm faster. I pull my wand out and point it at him; yelling "Petrificus Totalus!"

James' body locks up, stiff like a board and leans against the desk he just rose from. All my friends crawl out of the cupboards and stretch, triumphant smiles on their faces. Rachelle runs into the classroom and announces that it is now 8:05, which means Christiana will be here soon.

The girls slowly pull Al, Lysander and Lorcan's stiff bodies out of their hiding places and situate them in the middle of the hallway while Carter and I do the same with James. Once my roommates have finished, they all run and hide in the shadow of some suits of armor behind the frozen boys to watch what unfolds next while I walk in front of James, stand on my toes to reach up to his ear, while holding my balance on his shoulder, and smirk as I whisper, "This is for giving me purple hair. Your move now, Jamie... I hope you make it a good one..."

I lower myself and wink at him as I walk away; joining Carter in hiding in the shadow of a suit of armor near the girls.

I can hear Christiana walking down the hall, so we all shoot a color-changing spell at the boys, hoping to give them colored hair. Instead, what resulted, was colorful skin AND hair. James was now a lime green, Al a radiant orange, Lorcan or Lysander (I wasn't properly introduced to them so I don't know the difference yet) is a deep red and the other twin is an electric yellow. They all resemble fruit! I have to hold my hand over my mouth to quiet my laughing when I hear Carter chuckling to my left.

Suddenly Christiana's voice echo's through the hall. "Hey! What are you four doing out of bed?!" I hear her running toward them so I nod to the girls. We all unfreeze the boys, so it looks as though the boys are out of bed by choice. She runs up to them and says, "Well, well, well! The Potter pranking crew caught out of bed?"

She is standing right next to the armor that Carter and I are hiding behind and I can feel my body tense as she turns toward us, reaching out and grabbing Carter's hand when she looks at the armor we are behind. She whirls back around and rounds up the crew, talking loudly about how Headmaster McGonagall will have quite the punishment for them.

We wait until we hear Christiana and her captives walk around the corner before we crawl out from the shadows. The girls rise up first, each wearing a smug grin on their faces, and Carter and I come out next, grins slowly spreading on our faces. "Guys, we just successfully pranked the prank kings!" I say with a smile.

We all hi-five each other and hug excitedly before the girls walk back to Gryffindor tower, whispering and laughing about what just ensued.

I turn to Carter and smile, noticing he has a huge smile on his face too. I jump up and hug him, wrapping my arms around his neck and legs bent behind me. He wraps his arms around my waist and spins me around, laughter escaping his lips. He puts me down and we quietly make our way back to Gryffindor Tower as I say, "Thanks for your help with this. I really appreciate it! Although he saw that you helped, which means he will probably target ALL of us, INCLUDING YOU, with his next prank."

He sighs and stops walking, tilting his head at me when I turn and walk back toward him. He sighs again and says, "Do you think I'm scared of him? This prank was worth whatever punishment follows. This was probably the most fun I've had since I came here." He smiles at me and starts walking again.

I run to catch up with him, slowing my stride as I get next to him, and we continue our walk in thought-filled silence until we finally get to Gryffindor tower and have to go our separate ways.

He turns to me and smiles lightly. "Thank you for inviting me along to do this. I had loads of fun." Before I can respond, he leans down and gently places a kiss on my cheek, then turns and walks in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

I stare at him as he walks away, trying to process what just happened. My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of voices coming from the hall behind me. They vaguely sound like… _James and Al! Oh shit!_

I run to the portrait and hurriedly say the password, waving my hands rapidly at the Fat Lady in an attempt to get the portrait to open faster. It swings open wide enough for me to get through and I rush inside, throwing myself onto the large red couch in front of me, and quickly situate myself to make it look like I had been waiting there for a while, and turn toward the portrait.

I hear a muffled voice outside the portrait, then the portrait swings open, revealing a bright green James Potter. He sees me as soon as the portrait swings open and walks toward me, a smirk on his face. I look at him smugly and say, "Oh hello James! My, you were out late tonight! Might I ask why you're lime green?"

He smiles at me and sits across from me. "Someone's been a busy girl, Ariana. You might need to be punished…" He wiggles his eyebrows at me and winks.

I narrow my eyes at him and smirk as I say, "I'm not scared of you, you know…"

He gets up from the chair across from me and moves closer to me, placing each of his hands next to my face on the top of the couch and getting in my face, so close our noses are almost touching. He smiles and softly says, "I don't know, Ari… Are you ticklish?"

He quickly brings his hands down and wiggles his bright green fingers against my sides, earning a squeal as I, unsuccessfully, try to escape.

James laughs, his hazel eyes full of humor as he continues to tickle me. I struggle to break away but, when I finally do, I run toward the stairs that lead to the girl's dorms, James chasing me as I go. I get to the stairs and, right as I'm about to run up, he grabs my wrist and spins me around.

He backs me up to a wall, placing one hand on the wall by my face, the other still holding my wrist, and gets close to my face again, looking me in the eyes. I can feel the heat rise in my face as he slowly leans closer to me. His lips are inches from mine now, and I know for sure I'm blushing. I hear my breath hitch and he smiles, slowly leaning forward more…

_Oh my gosh…_ My heart is beating erratically, and feels as though it is about to beat out of my chest, which I'm sure James can hear it.

He continues to lean past my lips, straight to my ear and softly whispers, "I need to go try and wash the green off my body, but I hope you don't think your punishment is over because it's only just begun."

I can hear the smile in his voice, his hot breath sending goose bumps down my spine. He slowly pulls back and looks at me again with a smirk, obviously noticing how red my cheeks are and how flustered I am.

"Asshole…" I say unsteadily, attempting to ignore our proximity and angrily fighting the urge to pull him in and kiss him.

Suddenly we hear, "Ahem! Jamie, what are you doing with… _that?"_

We both quickly look over and see Monroe standing at the bottom of the stairs, the anger she is feeling written clearly on her face. She is glaring and pointing at me, putting emphasis on the fact that I am the "_that"_ she had been referring to.

My mouth falls agape and James lets go of my wrist, his cheeks reddening as he looks at and smirks again. "Goodnight Ariana. I will see you in the morning. Try not to dream about me too much."

He turns and walks to the stairs opposite the ones I'm on, completely ignoring Monroe in the process, and ascends them silently. I slowly try to catch my breath as I turn and walk up the stairs, bumping Monroe's shoulder as I go. I have a strange feeling of disappointment in my stomach as I crawl into bed, though I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in myself or James. I slowly drift off to sleep, disobeying James' last request as I dream of him all night.


	21. Annoyance:The Sincerest Form of Flattery

**Annoyance is the Sincerest Form of Flattery**

**James' POV**

It's been a week since Ariana turned me green and the color is _finally_ starting to fade. I definitely have to give credit where credit is due. Ariana and her friends actually managed to successfully prank me and my group. I also have to give credit to the fact that she held her own when I confronted her about her prank. I was doing my absolute best to try and fluster her, and she didn't even bat an eye at the attempt. Though it did seem we almost had a moment... Well, until Monroe came downstairs and ruined it.

I walk down the corridor completely lost in thought when I hear a familiar voice ask, "James? Why are you green?"

I look in the direction of the voice and see Ariana attempting not to laugh as she stands next to a very confused looking… Freddie?

I run over to my brown-eyed cousin, who is standing directly across from Ariana. "Freddie! They finally let you out of St. Mungo's?!"

I look over at Ariana and send her a quick wink before continuing to talk to my favorite cousin.

Freddie laughs, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "Yeah! Though they ended up keeping me an extra week to make sure my head wouldn't swell again."

I let out a laugh and turn to Ariana. "Freddie here is my cousin _and _a fellow pranking genius." I look at Freddie and say, "This is Ari. She's new to Hogwarts, though she's already managed to anger Monroe..." I look back at Ariana and add, "Freddie's been in St. Mungo's for the past two weeks due to a... _prank_ related mishap..."

She nods and smirks at Freddie as she says, "Good to see that I'm not the only one who's been on the receiving end of James' pranks..."

Freddie laughs and places a hand on her shoulder. "Ari, love, I'd love to say you and I are the only ones, but I'd be lying. If we were to go into the Great Hall, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting someone that James and I have already pranked..."

Ariana laughs and says, "Lovely... I guess I should start a club for those of us unfortunate enough to fall prey to you and your friends ridiculous pranks." She tilts her head at me in farewell and says, "James..." then smiles at Freddie and shifts her handful of books so they sit against her chest as she adds, "Freddie, it was great to meet you, but I really must be going."

She whirls around and hastily walks away so I turn back to Freddie and say, "It was good to see you, mate. I'll catch up with you later!" I wave to my cousin then hurriedly follow after Ariana.

She rounds the corner of a corridor, schoolbooks clutched tightly to her chest as she walks, and her blonde hair flows loosely behind her as she speeds through the corridor. Suddenly, appearing out of nowhere, Monroe walks over and shoves Ariana against the wall, causing her to drop her books. Monroe is flanked by her three bitchy lackeys while Ari is all alone, though Ariana doesn't look the least bit frightened. Instead, she simply looks aggravated with this interruption.

Monroe says something and reaches to touch Ariana's face. However, Ariana quickly reacts by reaching down, grabbing her wand, and pointing it at Monroe's face; the wand inches from Monroe's nose.

A look of fear crosses Monroe's face as Ariana says something to her through clenched teeth.

I decide I should break up the fight before anything can actually happen and I run over to them, though, as I get over there, Monroe and her group disband and head in the other direction.

I quickly approach Ariana, looking her up and down as she puts her wand away, and determine that she doesn't look to be injured, though it doesn't hurt to ask anyways. "Are you okay? She pushed you pretty hard… You don't look injured, but if I were able to inspect you closer I could know for sure." I say with a smile and a wink.

She looks at me and sighs, shifting her weight onto one leg impatiently. "What is it James? I have to meet someone and you're going to make me late."

I walk toward her with a smile, causing her to back away from the proximity. _I absolutely love flustering this girl…_

Her back gently runs into the wall behind her, making backing away from me impossible, and I see her lightly wince as her back makes contact with the stone behind her, though she tries to cover it up with a smile. I frown as I lean down and place my hands against the wall by her face, our faces now level as I incredulously say, "That wince leads me to believe that you are, in fact, injured…"

She looks back at me and sighs. "I'm fine, James. My back is just a bit sore, but it's nothing I can't handle. Now why were you following me?"

I ignore her question again and smile as I say, "I could take a look at it if you'd like."

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "If you continue to follow me around, Potter, I _will_ hurt you."

I let out a laugh. "Do I make you nervous, Ariana Brighton?"

She looks at me through narrowed eyes and shakes her head defiantly. "Nervous? No, you don't make me nervous, though you _definitely_ know how to annoy me. Now what do you want?"

"I don't believe that I don't make you nervous... Anyways, I just wanted to know if you would be going to the quidditch match tomorrow." I say with my hands still by her face. I reach up and tuck a strand of her loose hair behind her ear, letting my hand linger for just a moment.

She reaches up and slaps my hand away with a smirk as she sarcastically says, "What, you don't think your usual hoard of fan girls will show up to cheer you on? Why do you want me there so badly?"

I move my face closer and smile. "Do I hear jealousy in your voice? I do have lots of fans, but none whose presence I enjoy as much as yours..."

I see the blush rise in her cheeks as she rolls her eyes at me. "I'm not one of your fan girls, James. So far, since I've been here, you've pranked me and pinned me to a wall twice. Not a good way to make friends if you ask me..."

I laugh and straighten up, lowering one of my hands. "Who says I want to be friends?"

She raises her eyebrows then gets up on her toes and puts one hand around my neck while the other grabs my shirt, pulling me in. She leans in close, looking into my eyes, and smiles. I look from her eyes to her lips then back to her eyes, my heart beating faster as she gets closer, and I feel my breath hitch as she skims my cheek with hers.

She quietly whispers, with a brilliant mockery of my accent, "Do I make you nervous, James Potter?" I feel the heat rise in my face, as she drops back down, releasing my shirt and neck, and winks at me. Then she picks up her books and walks away without so much as a single glance back at me.

"Tease…" I say quietly with a smirk.

She's about to exit the corridor and go outside when she turns back around and says with a smile, "If it means that much to you, I will go to the game tomorrow."

Then she turns and walks outside, leaving me standing in the corridor alone, to think about the exchange that's just happened.

**Ari's POV**

I am extremely proud of what just happened. I know he enjoys making me blush so to be able to turn that around on him was great. I walk toward the Forbidden Forest and look for the clearing Carter had shown me last week. We had met there every day for the past week, and today is no different. When I get to the clearing, Carter is already there, his tall frame lying in the grass by the wooden post.

I walk over and lie next to him, wincing when my back comes into contact with the ground. "Sorry I'm late. I ran into some of James' fan club..."

Carter rolls over and props his head up with his arm. "What happened?"

I stare at the clouds as I tell him what happened with Monroe and James, sighing when I see he's shaking his head, obviously upset, and try to change the subject.

"So are you ready for the match tomorrow? I know you all are playing Gryffindor, but I will do my best to cheer for both teams." I say with a wink.

He laughs, clearly distracted from his previous anger. "I am really excited. I can't wait to win the match for us when I catch the snitch." He brushes some hair out of his face and asks, "Are you still going to go to the game?"

I look at him out of the corner of my eye and chuckle. "I told you last week I would go and I stand by that today. I will be at the game tomorrow, I promise."

He looks at his watch then looks at me as he helps me up off the ground and says, "Divinations time… Let's go." We talk about what tomorrow might bring as we walk to Divinations class.


	22. Quidditch Matches and Rainy Days

**Quidditch Matches and Rainy Days**

**Ari's POV**

I hesitantly open my eyes just as Bella jumps onto my bed excitedly and says, "Today's the day of the quidditch match! Get up Ari!"

I slowly roll out of bed and chuckle. Two weeks ago, I would have never been able to tell you that Bella would be one of my best friends, but now I can't imagine my life being as fun without her, or any of the other girls for that matter.

I walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my hair. I walk out of the bathroom and walk over to my chest to get dressed, picking out a red, cable knit sweater, white jeans and my black converse. I quickly put on my clothes and speed walk into the common room, in a hurry to get to breakfast and eat.

I am about to leave when, out of nowhere, I she attacks me.

**James' POV**

I sit in the Great Hall, staring at the plate full of untouched in front of me. Freddie leans over and laughs, jabbing me with his elbow as he says, "Are you going to eat anything at all, mate?"

I look at him, smiling weakly, and he nods his understanding. He knows I get really nervous before I play a match and that I'm likely vomit up anything I eat beforehand, which is why I tend to avoid eating at all before the match.

I look back to my plate and take a deep breath, in an attempt to calm myself down, when I hear someone from the Gryffindor table gasp loudly. I quickly look up to find the source and realize it was one of Ari's roommates, Rachelle, who is looking at the entrance to the Great Hall with a horrified look on her face. I follow her gaze and my jaw drops; Ari is standing in the doorway with bright green hair.

She silently walks over to the Gryffindor table; her gaze kept on the table in an attempt to avoid looking at anyone else, and sits right across from me.

"What… who… who did this?" I stammer out, my eyes wide with shock.

Ariana grimaces, piling food onto the plate in front of her as she says, "Monroe."

**Ari's POV**

Why can't I just get to have my blonde hair? Why do people feel the need to dye it crazy colors? Is it so hard to just leave it alone?

I look up from my plate and grimace again when I see James is still staring at me with his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide.

Suddenly, he smirks and says, "If you wanted to match me so bad, you could have just not turned me green."

I let out a laugh, rolling my eyes as I say, "If only you'd told me sooner James!"

He chuckles before looking down at his plate, a tense silence replacing the joking tone from just moments before. I look over to Freddie and cock my head to the side in confusion, who points to James and whispers, "Nervous about the match."

"The great and powerful James is… scared?" I say with a smirk as I glance over at James.

James turns his gaze to Freddie, narrowing his eyes in the process, and frowns, to which Freddie responds by smiling then getting up from the table and walking away.

I reach over and touch James' hand, smiling reassuringly when I say, "You don't need to be nervous, you know. I know you'll do great today."

He gives me a weak smile then laughs and gets up from the table as well. "I have to go now. But meet me after the game?"

I look at him incredulously as I ask, "This isn't another prank is it? Didn't you learn your lesson when I turned you green?"

He laughs again and shakes his head. "It's not a prank, I promise. Just meet me after the match, please?"

I can feel my eyes widen in shock._ I don't think I've ever heard James say please before…_

"Um, yea sure. Where at?" I ask him, still in disbelief.

He grins at the expression on my face. "Just stay in the stands. I'll find you."

I nod and he turns to leave but, before he gets too far, I stop him by saying, "Hey James? Good luck today."

He smiles and winks at me then he turns and walks out of the Great Hall.

Suddenly there is a hand on my shoulder and, when I turn around, I see Bella and Rachelle smiling at me.

"What?" I ask them, genuinely confused by the large grins on their faces.

They both laugh and Bella says, "Come on lover girl, let's go paint your face for the match. Maybe we can do something about your hair too…"

(Break)

I walk into the stands of the arena and sit between Bella and Rachelle. Astoria is in the hospital wing with some odd sickness, so she has to miss the match.

My green hair is pulled into a braid with a red beanie on the top of my head and my face is painted red with a gold paw print over my eye. I have my red and gold Gryffindor scarf around my neck too.

The teams come out onto the pitch and, after a tense introduction, the match begins. Within the first ten minutes Slytherin has scored five times while Gryffindor has only scored twice. I look up at James and see his exasperated expression as he looks for the snitch. Carter is below him looking for the snitch as well, but with a much calmer expression on his face.

Suddenly James' head snaps around and he quickly pulls his broom to the left. Carter looks up at James and hastily follows his lead, making sure his movements mirror those of James.

James is almost at the ground, Carter flying directly behind him, when James turns his broom once again. Suddenly, a bludger speeds through the air and hits Carter directly in the head, knocking him off his broom. His body plummets toward the ground, hitting the sandy field ground with a loud thud. In an instant, all the Slytherins are standing up, craning their necks to see what has happened to Carter, while an anxious silence fills the arena.

My eyes lock onto Carter's unconscious body lying helplessly on the ground and I can't help but gasp, my hands clasping over my mouth to stop the scream that threatens to escape from my lips.

I wonder why nobody goes onto the pitch to get him, but immediately understand as another bludger hits the ground near him. They don't want to disrupt the game, but they also don't want to risk getting injured to go save someone else. My heart breaks for him as the game continues overhead. He had been so excited for the game yesterday and now I just can't seem to pull my eyes away from his limp body.

The crowd erupts into cheers, breaking me out of my trance. I look up and see James holding up the snitch, wearing a large smile as he flies around the arena to show off his catch.

Finally Madam Hooch runs out onto the field with Madam Pomfrey to tend to Carter. When they get to him they levitate his body, keeping him in the same position as he was when he was lying on the ground, and take him off the pitch.

Everyone from Gryffindor runs back to Gryffindor tower to celebrate the win while the Slytherins grumble and sulk the entire way back to their dorm rooms. Bella and Rachelle walk away and join our house in celebration, only to turn back around to come get me.

"Hey Ari, are you coming? There's going to be a big party since we won." Bella asks me while tugging on my arm. I shake my head and stare at the field where Carter's body used to be, sitting down in defeat.

Rachelle smiles sympathetically at me and says, "Don't worry about him Ari. He will be alright."

I shake my head again and quietly say, "I'm fine. I just want to be alone and stay here for a bit. I will be in later, I promise."

They nod and Bella squeezes my shoulder before they both turn and walk away, leaving me leaving me with my thoughts as the last person in the stands. I know that bludger was hit by one of the Slytherin players and was meant for James, but he saw it and moved at the last minute. Carter's own teammate hit him with a bludger and ruined their chances of winning the match. _I wonder if they are going to go visit him in the hospital wing..._

My thoughts are interrupted by someone shaking my shoulders. I look up and see James standing over me, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head and wipe my eyes, smearing red face paint all over my hands, and laugh as I look at the red and gold paint that is smeared across my palms.

James smiles lightly at me, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder and sitting down next to me. "Ari I'm sure he'll be alright. He's survived years of my pranks, I'm sure one little bludger is going to do too much damage." I nod, tears escaping my eyes again.

This time James wipes my tears away and pulls my into a gentle hug, rubbing large circles on my back to try and comfort me. I slowly catch my breath and calm myself down before lifting out of his hug and smiling at him. He stifles laughter as he looks at my face then he motions with his finger for me to follow him and leads me down into the locker rooms. He leaves for a second then comes back with a towel, silently wiping my face clean of the smeared face paint then tossing the red towel onto the floor in the locker room. He looks back to me and says, "Come on lime head. Let's go do some real exploration."

I laugh and nod, following him out of the locker room. "So where are you taking me today?"

He turns and smiles humorously at me. "You are just going to have to trust me…"

I laugh sarcastically and shake my head. "Yeah, okay! The last time you said that I ended up with purple hair!"

He chuckles but keeps walking, leading us into the Forbidden Forest. I hear strange noises now, none that I've ever heard before when I've come in here with Carter. I run and move closer to James, thinking: _If anything comes at us, I just need to outrun James…_

He leads me in the direction of the clearing that Carter and I spent so much time in. _He couldn't possibly know about the clearing… Could he?_

My question, however, is answered as he turns to the right and leads us in the opposite direction of the known clearing. We keep walking for a bit more before he reaches his arm out and stops me from walking any further.

"Alright, Ariana. I'm going to need you to close your eyes." He says with a smirk.

I laugh sarcastically and shake my head again. "Fat chance, Potter!"

"Fine, then I will cover them for you!" He says with a smile. He walks behind me and places his hands over my eyes, nudging me forward as he says, "Okay, now walk forward slowly."

I do as he says and walk forward, my hands slightly outstretched in front of me. I feel leaves on my palms and face as I walk through some branches.

James stops me again but keeps my eyes covered, so I breathe in a deep breath and smell flowers along with moist soil before he uncovers my eyes and lets me take in my surroundings. I let out a gasp as I look around. There are trees and bushes encircling a field of bright, colorful flowers. _It looks just like my field from home!_

I spin around, looking at him with wide eyes. "When did you… How did you… What is this place?" I finally manage to say.

He smiles sheepishly. "I found this place the other day, and you seem like someone who could appreciate it. You can't tell anyone about it though. It has to be our little secret."

I nod and turn back around. I feel a small drop of water fall on my face so I look up and, at that moment, the sky lets down all the rain it's been holding in and dumps it onto me and James. I turn around and see he is frowning. "What's with the frown, James?"

"I'm not sure if you know this, but that wet stuff falling from the sky is rain. We should go inside; we don't want to get sick." He says while looking up.

I laugh, bringing his gaze back to me. "What's wrong, Jamie? Are you afraid to get a little wet?"

**James' POV**

I shake my head and smirk defiantly at her. She takes off her hat and walks over, a mischievous grin on her face as she gets right next to me and starts shaking her hair around, flinging water all over my face.

I slowly shake my head at her and say, "Oh you did not just do that."

"Actually, I believe I just did!" She says with a laugh as she does it again.

I narrow my eyes and run at her, but she anticipates the move and moves to the right with a laugh, evading my grip. I turn and follow her, running after her as she runs around the field. I finally decide I'm not going to catch her out in the open, so when she turns her back I run and hide behind a tree.

When she realizes I'm not behind her anymore, she turns around and asks, "James?"

She wanders a little bit to the left, just a few feet away from me, so I jump out from behind the tree and grab her around the waist as she squeals and tries to run away. I lift her over my shoulder, however, as I carry her across the field, I lose my footing and drop Ari, falling on top of her.

She laughs and pushes me off. "Get off of me, James!"

I roll off to the side of her and prop myself up on to my arm so I can still look at her. She is lying on her back, face pointed to the sky, with her eyes closed. Her lime green hair is messily strewn on her face. I reach over and slowly pick up a strand of the hair, twirling it in my fingers for a moment before dropping it off to the side. I do it again with another piece on her face, then another, then another, until she only has one large strand left on her face. I move the last strand and lay there, watching as the rain hits her face. She slowly blinks her eyes open as she turns onto her side.

"So how does it feel knowing you won the game today?" She asks with a smile.

I shrug my shoulders and smirk as I say, "Just doing my duty as the team's best player."

She rolls her eyes and laughs as she smacks me on the arm. "Good to see that you're back to your arrogant ways..."

I laugh and put my hand over my chest in fake offense. "Ariana you know just how to wound me! By the way, I do recall telling you last week that your punishment for pranking me wasn't over… Do you remember that?"

I see a hint of fear flash across her face, but then she replaces it with narrow eyes and a smug grin. "You don't scare me, James Potter."

I laugh at her expression, wiggling my eyebrows as I darkly say, "Oh, but I should, Miss Brighton."

Her eyes widen a little bit as she thinks about what I just said. I suddenly reach over and start tickling her again. Her eyes get really wide as she tries to get away, but she refuses to laugh. Instead she bites her lip, trying to keep it in.

I move my hands up to beneath her arms and she loses it. "J-James! Stop p-please!" She manages to say through her laughter.

I smirk at her as I ask, "What was that you were saying about not being scared of me?"

"I t-take it b-back! You're t-terrifying!" She says as she continues to struggle and try to get free.

I laugh, conceding my tickling, and wink at her. "That's what I thought... You'll do well to remember that, Brighton."

She lies back to catch her breath, rolling her eyes at me, and I look at her with a smile. "Should we go visit your boyfriend in the hospital wing?"

She looks at me and shakes her head. "You are impossible."

I laugh and hold out my hand to help her up, which she gratefully accepts, and I pull her up off the ground.

"Hold on Ari. You have a flower tangled in your hair." She flings her hair around but the flower is still in there. "Okay hold still! I'll get it out, just sit still." I walk over and put one hand on her shoulder to hold her still while I reach down and pull the flower out of her hair.

She looks up at me and smiles nervously. "Uh, thanks, James."

**Ari's POV**

I am suddenly very aware of how close we are as James pulls the flower out of my hair. I look up at him and smile nervously. "Uh, thanks, James."

His hand stays on my shoulder, but the look on his face is different. Suddenly, before I can stop myself, I'm standing on my toes and my lips are pressed against his. One of his hands tangles in my hair while the other one is around my waist, pulling me closer. I place both of my hands around the back of his neck in an attempt to pull him closer to me. His lips are soft as they form against mine and I can't help but sigh, though the kiss ends almost instantly as I pull away from him, my eyes wide with shock at what I've just done.

"I'm so sorry… I shouldn't have… I'm so sorry…" I can't seem to finish my sentences so I just run away, back toward the school, and leave James looking confused in the middle of the flower field.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**James' POV**

One minute I'm snogging Ariana and the next minute she is apologizing and running away. It really was a great kiss so I'm not really sure why she was apologizing. It takes me a moment to register everything, but after I do I take off running after her.

"Ari! Ariana!" I yell after her as I sprint through the forest. If I don't find her out here, I know exactly where to find her. I continue to yell for her as I run back to the school, slipping in the mud puddles the rain is causing as I go. I run into the school, mud splashed on my legs and covering my arms from my falls. As I walk into the school I get warmer. I didn't realize how cold the rain was until I got inside and felt the warmth the castle had to offer. I take off my socks and shoes then run up the stairs in front of me, two at a time. I round the corner and head up some more of the stairs. As I turn the corner into a corridor, I run into my least favorite person: Monroe.

"James! Where are you off to in such a hurry? And where were you during the celebration?" She asks, blocking my way.

I sigh. "Monroe, I really don't have time for this. Please move." I say in the nicest tone possible as I push past her. I hear her huff loudly but I don't care. I sprint toward the hospital wing, only to be stopped in my tracks once again.

I hear some sniffles and then "James?" I turn my head in the direction of the voice and see Ari sitting on the floor outside the Hospital wing. She has her legs pulled up into her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

I walk over slowly and sit down next to her. "What are you doing out here? I thought for sure you would be in there visiting with Carter."

She sniffles again. "What are YOU doing here? Did you run after me?"

I laugh. "Do you not see the mud on my clothes? Of course I came after you!"

She chuckles as she looks at the mud stains on my shirt, rubbing at the mud on my arm. I take up some of the wet mud on my shirt with my finger and wipe it on her nose with a laugh. She giggles then looks at me, sadness apparent on her face. "I'm sorry I ran back there. I just… wait. You have to promise you won't laugh…"

I smile. "I promise I won't laugh." She tilts her head to the side and stares as me for a second, probably trying to decide if she believes me or not, then she continues.

"I just don't want to be another girl to add to your fan group." She admits quietly.

I break my promise and let out a laugh. She looks at me with narrow eyes.

"Sorry, I just don't understand how you could think that." I say to her with a small smile.

She looks at me with wide eyes. "How could you NOT understand what I'm talking about?! You have a group of girls who follow you everywhere and idolize everything you do! I'm rather amazed they aren't here right now!"

I laugh again and shake my head. "Let's change the subject. Why are you sitting outside the hospital wing rather than visiting Carter inside?"

Her face gets solemn and she rests her chin on her knees. She quietly asks "What if he doesn't want to see me? It's pretty late, what if he thinks I didn't visit him earlier because I don't care? What if he's not okay?"

I put my finger under her chin and lift it up so that she's looking at me. "You'll never know if you don't go in there."

She gives me a small smile and nods. I get up and hold out my hand to help her up and she accepts the help. She wraps her arms around me and gives me a hug. "Thanks James. I appreciate you being so understanding."

I smile and say "It's what I'm here for." I release her from the hug and give her a small kiss on the forehead. "Now stop stalling and go visit Carter!" I watch her walk into the hospital wing then sit back on the ground, to wait until she comes out.

**Ari's POV**

I open the door to the hospital wing and peek in. I don't see any slytherines around so I walk in. I look in the first bed, but only find a red haired girl in a body cast. I lightly tap her foot and say "Feel better…"

I hear a familiar sounding chuckle from the back of the room. "Carter? Where are you?"

The chuckle sounds again. "I'm in the back." I walk to the back of the hospital wing and look at the two furthest beds back there. The one on the left is empty so I walk to the one on the right. I sit down next to the person and say "How are you feeling?"

Once again Carter laughs. "Ariana, that's not me."

I turn around, feeling the heat rushing to my face. "Well shit Carter! Where are you at?"

He sighs. "Walk one bed to the right. Okay now turn around. Now walk across the room. Watch out for my-"

I run directly into his bed. "Shit. Sorry…"

He laughs. "That's alright. I'm glad you came to visit."

I smile weakly. "Did your team come visit you?"

"Only long enough to tell me I lost them the match." He says with a scoff.

I stare at him wide-eyed. "They… WHAT? THEY BLAMED THE LOSS ON YOU?" I can feel my anger rising as each word I say sinks in.

"Ariana, you need to keep your voice down. It is the middle of the night." He says with a laugh.

I nod to him. "Sorry. I just… can't believe that they would blame you for the loss. It was one of the slytherine beaters who whacked the bludger that hit you! What did Madam Pomfrey say?"

"She said that I have a small concussion but I should be good to leave tomorrow. What are you doing up so late anyways? And why are you all wet?" He asks feeling my shirt.

"I got caught out in the rain, no big deal." I say to him. I can feel myself blushing. I lay my head on the edge of the bed. "So tell me what happened out there."

He lets out a sigh as he plays with a strand of my hair. "I remember flying around, looking for the snitch. Then I remember Potter flying by me. I assumed he saw the snitch so I followed him, echoing his movements. I remember flying at the ground, then turning at the last minute. Then I remember feeling a terrible pain in my head as the world went dark. I woke up here, with my 'team' standing around me. As soon as I woke up they started yelling at me, telling me I lost them the game and I was going to be paying for this on the field when I get out of here."

I lie there, looking at his face as he recounts the events from the match. His face remains stoic until he begins to talk about his terrible team, which make his face change from emotionless to angry. I can completely understand his anger though. A team isn't supposed to act that way toward a teammate.

"Your body was on the pitch for a long time. Or it could have only been a few minutes, but it felt like forever before Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey went out to get you. I just stared at you until they came out and took you off the pitch. I was so scared that you weren't going to be alright…" I say with eyes closed.

He laughs and touches my hand. "I'm fine though. Now, you look exhausted. I will see you tomorrow. Why don't you head off to bed?"

I nod to him and get up. He closes his eyes and lies back on his pillow. "Thanks again for coming to visit. It means a lot."

I smile. "Anything for you! You're one of my best friends!" I walk out into the corridor to find James sleeping against the wall.

I walk over and nudge him. He jumps up and says "Wha'? Who's there?"

I laugh and grab his hand. "C'mon sleeping beauty, let's get you to bed."

(Break)

The weeks following Carter's release from the hospital wing went by extremely quick, although I did seem to have a packed schedule all the time. My days consisted of eating breakfast with Carter out in the clearing, going to classes, eating lunch and doing homework with James, eating dinner and hanging out with my roommates, going to bed then waking up to do it all again the next day. The list doesn't include Hogsmead trips and quidditch games which I went to all of. I usually went to Hogsmead with James and the quidditch games with Carter and the girls. Ever since the hospital wing trip James and I had been spending lots of time together, partially because he was helping me with all my classes, and partially because when he's not being a cocky jerk he's pretty nice.

By the time I realize just how fast the year is going it's already time for winter break. James is heading home for break but I decided to stay here, much to the dismay of James and his family. I just didn't want to interfere with their holiday. The girls are all going home too, but it worked out well, because Carter is staying here.

I walk out of my room and down the stairs into the common room. James is sitting on the couch talking to Freddie.

I stop at the bottom of the stairs and stare at them. "What are you two still doing here? Doesn't the train leave soon?"

James stands up and Freddie laughs. "Jamie here wanted to say goodbye to you before we leave for two weeks."

James shoots Freddie a death glare then turns back to me. "I just wanted to see if I could change your mind about coming with? What if I said pretty please?"

I laugh and shake my head. "Although seeing you beg would be funny, I'm still going to have to pass. Sorry! I think I'm going to stay here and explore a bit."

He smiles and walks over. He pulls me into a hug and says "Just be careful, okay?"

I laugh again. "I'll be fine! Plus Carter is going to be here too."

He pulls me out of the hug and holds me in front of him. "I still want you to be careful though. I still don't trust him yet."

"Okay, I will. Now you two need to get going! You don't want to miss your train!" I say pointing to both of them.

Freddie laughs loudly and then salutes me. "Yes ma'am!" I wave to them as the leave the common room with their stuff. As soon as I know they are gone I run to the forbidden forest, to the clearing, fresh snow crunching under my boots as I run. I am about to enter the clearing when I hear Carter's voice, so I crouch down behind a lightly dusted bush and listen intently.

"No dad! I refuse to do it!" Carter says.

Then another voice, I'm guessing his father, cuts in. "Carter, the Dark Lord has demanded it!"

"DAD! She is my BEST FRIEND! I don't care what that asshole Caledon wants!" He yells to his dad. I try to peek through the bush I'm hiding behind and see who Carter is talking to, but all I can see is his dark hood. The voice sounds familiar, but I just can't seem to put a face to the voice. _I am definitely going to have to talk to James about this later…_ I pull my scarf up over my nose and continue listening.

His dad growls "You dare defy him?"

Carter lets out a cynical laugh. "I have to go dad. Good luck with the whole Death Eater thing."

His dad laughs. "You would pick _her _over your own family?"

"When my family is a bunch of mental Death Eaters? Yes." Carter responds. I can hear the smirk on his face as he speaks.

His dad growls again. "Then you are going to need to find a new place to live because you are no longer welcome at my house."

Carter laughs loudly. "Yea I'm bloody crushed."

I had heard enough. I ran from the forest back to the school and sat in the courtyard. The school is eerily empty with everyone gone for winter break, so I got to the courtyard rather quickly. I sit on the snow covered bench and think about what to do next. _Should I send a letter to the burrow and tell James what happened or should I wait until he gets back? _It's not like Carter is going to do anything to me, he just stood up to his Death Eater father and was just kicked out of his house for me. But at the same time, there weren't many people here so I don't feel extremely safe right now. I decide that I'm going to wait to tell James, I don't want to ruin his holiday.

I am brought out of my thoughts by a familiar voice. "Ariana? What are you doing out here? It's freezing! And snowing!" I turn and see Carter standing with his arms crossed tightly against his chest. I look around and realize it had started snowing again while I was out here thinking.

"Hey Carter. I was just out here thinking." I say absentmindedly.

He chuckles. "Can you think inside? I don't want you to get sick! Let's go get some hot chocolate!"

I laugh and get up from the bench. "Okay fine." I get up and follow him to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate.

(Break)

The remaining two weeks for winter holiday went by really slow. Not having as many things on my schedule really made things go by slowly. I ended up spending the entire break with Carter which helped, but I missed James and the girls.

I walk down the stairs on the last day of winter break and stop at the bottom. Carter is sleeping on the couch, but he's done that all through winter holiday so I pretty much expect it now. He was still getting grief from the other slytherines because of what happened at the first quidditch match, so he's been sleeping over in the common room here. It's going to be weird when I wake up and he's not down there. I walk over and sit on his stomach. "Wake up sleepy head! We are going to be late for breakfast!"

He groans and tries to roll over. "Ugh piss off!"

I pull his blanket off of him and throw it into the chair across from him. "Get up!"

He rolls onto his side and looks at me through narrow eyes then relaxes. "Fine… let's go…" He gets up off the couch and runs his hand through his blonde hair and yawns.

We walk into the great hall and sit down. We are busy putting food on our plate and talking about our plans for the day when someone behind us says "Wow Carter. First you lose us the match and then you turn your back on your family for the filthy American. You must be screwing her big time, Carter."

I look at Carter, whose fists are clenched at his sides. He is trying to remain calm but I can tell it's not working. I turn around to see who is talking to us. The boy is around six foot one with black greased back hair and a round nose. His mouth is twisted up into a sneer. I recognize him instantly. This is the beater who hit the bludger that hurt Carter. I jump up and pull my wand out of my boots. I point it directly at his pig nose and say, "If you utter one more word about that match I will make sure it's the last thing you say. Try me."

The pig nosed boy laughs. "She's a feisty one Carter, I'll give you that. I might have to give her a go after you're done with her." At that Carter jump up from his seat, wand also pointed at the boy's face.

I turn to Carter and grab his arm. "Carter he's not worth it. Let's go." He turns his head and looks at me, confusion etched on his face. I quickly look up at McGonnagal, who is watching our exchange closely, then back down. He catches my hint and drops his wand.

"Alright, let's go then." He says as he follows me out. I can tell that he is still angry, so I suggest that we go change out of our pajamas and into regular clothes. He nods his agreement and I suggest he go first. It will give him time to cool off. We walk to the slytherine house together in silence. He goes into the dorms to change and I wait outside in the corridor for him.

I see a shadow coming down the hall, but I don't really pay attention to it. Suddenly I hear "Well if it isn't the filthy American… You know, although you are _American_ you are rather pretty…" He steps closer to me, each step slow and calculated. "I think I want to find out why Carter thought screwing you was a good enough reason to turn his back on his family." His face twists into a sneer as he stands in front of me. I stand up and put my hands up while trying to back away. The boy grabs my wrist and shoves me against the wall, forcing a grunt of pain to escape my lips. He continues to grasp my wrist tightly while his other hand comes up and gently strokes my face.

Then, out of nowhere, he brings his hand up and then back down, his ring cutting my cheek as his hand collides across my face. I can feel the hot, sticky blood running down my cheek. The boy brings his finger up and touches the blood drip with a laugh.

"Um… Carter? Could you hurry please?" I say uneasily. I look around trying to find an escape, but I don't see any. There aren't any shadows for me to hide in so getting away is going to be next to impossible.

The boy slowly bends over and goes to pull my wand out of my boot. "You won't be needing this for what I have planned, American." His face is near my knee, so I bring it up. It connects with his face, knocking him backward. He clutches his broken nose in pain. I take the opportunity to run away.

"Carter!" I yell while running.

The boy slowly gets back up and runs after me. I look back and see him running after me, pure rage and hatred written on his face. "CARTER!"

He reaches out and grabs my hair with a bloody hand, pulling me to the ground. I hit the ground with a thud. He grabs my wrist again and pulls me up. "That was rude, and now, you will pay." He says with a menacing grin. He brings his hand up again and smacks me across the face again with such power it knocks me to the ground, opening up a new gash on my face. "CARTER!" I screech desperately.

The boy pulls out his wand and points it at me. I curl up on the ground, making sure the boy can't see the apparent fear on my face. He kicks me in such a way that makes me flip flat on my back. He slashes his wand violently, yelling a spell, causing a large cut to appear across my stomach. I lie on my back, blood beginning to pool around me.

Suddenly I hear "EXPELLIARMUS!" from behind me. I chance a glance up and see Freddie standing behind me, his wand pointed at the boy, anger filling his brown eyes. "JAMES! She's over here!" he yells over his shoulder. The slytherine boy tries to back away slowly but Freddie looks at him again. "Go ahead _Perlorn_. Run away. That makes killing you so much more fun." The boy takes it as a challenge and runs away. Freddie smiles devilishly and chases after him.

James comes running around the corner at full speed. He sees me on the ground and runs over to me, falling down to his knees next to me. He grabs my chin and looks at my face. He rubs his thumb over the cuts on my cheek, wiping away the blood still running down my face. He finally looks down at what he is kneeling in; his eyes get wide as he realizes it's my blood. A look of panic crosses his face and he yells "Help! Somebody help!"

I hear someone running toward us, then hear James yell _"_No! Go get Madam Pomfrey!"

The footsteps quickly fade away. James pulls off his sweater and places it on the cut on my stomach while applying pressure to the wound. I can see he is starting to lose his cool so I reach up and place a blood covered on top of his and smile weakly.

My eyes slowly begin to close and my world goes black.

**James' POV**

I pull of my sweater and put it on Ari's cut. I apply pressure to the cut and try to stop the bleeding the best I can. She looks at my face and reaches a red, blood caked hand up to mine with a weak smile. I begin to think about what all just happened and try to make sense of it all.

_Today is the final day of winter holiday, and Freddie and I came back early. Well, it's more like I wanted to come back early and drug Freddie along with me. Most everyone would be coming back tomorrow, but honestly, the past two weeks had been boring without Ari. _

_We spent the holiday at the burrow, which normally would have been fun, but I really just spent the entire time wondering what Ari was doing. It drove Freddie and Al bloody bonkers too._

_As we walked into the castle, Freddie and I talked about the different prank ideas we had and who to play them on. We walk past the great hall and run into Monroe._

"_I'm pretty sure your little slut toy has replaced you. She just walked around the corner with the slytherine. He's spent loads of time in our common room too, practically the entire holiday." She says with a snide tone. It sounds as though Ariana had a great winter holiday without me and my heart sinks at the news. I sigh and shake the feeling off. We were only friends, as were she and Carter, so it shouldn't matter. Although, I will get this girl eventually, no matter what it takes._

_I smile to Freddie, and he understands that I want to go surprise Ariana with our early return. We round the corner into a corridor and hear "Carter!" I look at Freddie and sprint toward the scream. That was Ariana's voice, and she sounded scared. I look back and see that Freddie is following close behind me, his wand drawn. A couple of seconds later the scream becomes more desperate. "CARTER!" We get to a T in the corridor so I look at Freddie and say "You go left, I will go right." He takes off down the left corridor and I barrel down the right, both listening for the scream again. I faintly hear Freddie yell to me "JAMES! She's over here!"_

_I sprint in that direction, silently thanking my quidditch captains for making us run laps all the time. I round the corner and see Ari lying on the ground, flat on her back. I run over and slide up next to her._

_I carefully grasp her chin and turn her face, inspecting for damage. I turn her face to the right and see two deep gashes on her cheek. One had scabbed up already, but another was fresh; blood still slowly seeping from it. I wipe the blood off her cheek with my thumb and then look down. Before now, I had only been focusing on her facial injuries. I hadn't even noticed the large cut on her stomach or the pool of her blood that I had been kneeling in. I start to panic as I realize I could lose her here and now. "Help! Somebody help!" I look over and see Carter running toward us. "No! Go get Madam Pomfrey!" I yell to him. He spins around and runs to the Hospital wing._

I blink out of my memory just in time to see Ariana's eyes slowly close. "Ariana! I'm going to need you to stay with me! Please stay awake!"

I can hear heels clicking rapidly down the corridor and I look up. Carter and Madam Pomfrey are sprinting toward us. Madam Pomfrey pushes me out of the way and gets to work, softly murmuring healing spells. The blood begins to seep back into Ariana's body and the cut slowly seals up. Madam Pomfrey looks at me and Carter and says "One of you carry her and follow me. We are taking her to the hospital wing."

I look over to Carter. "Can you take her? I'm going to go look for Freddie." Carter nods and lifts her up, her limp limbs dangling lifelessly as he does. He walks with her in his arms, quickly trying to follow behind Madam Pomfrey.

I turn around. _Now it's time to find who did this…_

**Ari's POV**

I slowly open my eyes and look around. My surroundings are all hidden in shadows. _It must be night time…_ I try to sit up, but a sharp pain in my abdomen hinders me. I gasp as the pain hits me and lie back down. I try to push myself up but my hand is stuck in something. I panic and try to pull myself free but whatever my hand was stuck in was unrelenting. I tug harder and the thing moves, releasing my hand. I narrow my eyes to try and see what my hand was stuck in. It takes a moment, but my eyes finally adjust and I think I recognize the shape.

"James? Is that you?" I ask quietly. No answer. I try to sit up again so I can get a closer look. As I sit up, the stabbing pain in my abdomen comes back. I groan and wrap an arm around it, but continue to sit up. I reach behind my head and grab my pillow. I slowly raise it and smack the figure in the head with it. I assume the figure is either James or Carter since they were holding my hand.

The person's head pops up. "Wha's goin' on?" they ask groggily.

I let out a laugh. _That's most definitely James. _"Well good morning sleeping beauty!"

He yawns then grins. "I am quite a beauty aren't I?" His grin turns to concern. "How are you feeling? You scared me back there…"

I shrug. "My abdomen is a little sore when I move, but other than that I'm alright." I begin looking around my bed.

"Have you seen my wand?" I ask him absentmindedly. He nods and points to the table next to me. It's on the far end of the table by a glass of water. I roll over, groaning at the strain on my abdomen, and reach to retrieve it. James sees me struggling so he walks over to the table and gets it. He sits back down and hands me my wand. "I would have gotten it eventually, but thank you." I flick my wand and say "Lumos."

I pull back the blanket and pull up my shirt, then I point my wand at my stomach. I am checking for some kind of scar or scab, but I can't find anything.

He looks at me and laughs. "Is this your version of a strip tease? Because it could really use some work."

I roll my eyes and smile. "Just show me where the cut was!" He gets up from his chair next to my bed and sits right next to my stomach.

"The cut was right here," He points right below my belly button. "And it went from this side to this side." He gestures from one side of my stomach to the other. I can see his concern as he looks at my stomach.

"I will be fine, I promise!" I say with a laugh. I pull the blanket back up over my abdomen.

He shakes his head and chuckles. "Carter will be glad to hear that. He was here earlier, but he couldn't stay."

I look at the blanket and play with the hemline. "What about you?" I ask bashfully.

He smiles and grabs my hands. "Oh I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't I know it! You're like a bad rash; I just can't get rid of you!" I say with a smirk.

He smirks. "You know just how to wound me Ariana. I thought we were having a moment!"

I let out a laugh. "So how was your holiday?"

"I didn't get to see you so it was pretty boring." He says plainly.

"Man! You are really laying it on thick tonight, huh?" I say with a laugh.

He chuckles. "I wouldn't have to if you would just go out with me!"

"Wouldn't that make living in your house rather awkward?" I say with a grin.

He laughs loudly. "I like to think of it as _convenient._"

I shrug my shoulders. "Tomato/tomahto." I let out a big yawn and scoot myself down in the bed so that I can rest my head on the pillow.

James laughs and shakes his head. "Are you getting tired? I can leave if you'd like."

"NO! No it's fine. I was just getting more comfortable. Please don't leave!" I say while grabbing his arm.

"Well I guess I can stay. Since you asked so nicely." He says with a wink.

"So tell me what your holiday consisted of." I say with closed eyes.

He laughs and tells me about his holiday. The last thing I remember him telling me about is a quidditch match they had at the burrow. Then I drifted into a deep sleep.

I am interrupted from my sleep by someone grabbing my wrist. I jerk my body upright and yank my wrist from the person's grasp. I look to see who the person is and I recognize her immediately. It's only Madam Pomfrey. She laughs a bubbly laugh and says "It's only me my dear! I just need to check your vitals then you can be on your way." I give my arm back to her and wait.

"You're free to go!" She says cheerfully. I pack up my wand and head out the door into the corridor. Just outside the hospital wing, sitting against the wall, are James, Carter, and the girls. I run over and give them all a hug. The girls are all bombarding me with questions about what happened and if I could tell them who did it and what not. I look at James and Carter and silently mouth "HELP."

James chuckles. "LADIES! Let's not crowd her! She's only just left the hospital wing!"

I smile and look over to Carter. He is staring at the ground guiltily. "Do you all mind if I talk to Carter alone for a moment?" They all shake their heads and walk ahead.

I turn to Carter. "Are you alright? You seem rather down…"

He nods. "Yes. I just feel like what happened to you was partially my fault. If I had been there this wouldn't have happened." His voice is very matter of fact; as if he knows this ridiculous statement is a fact and he's simply informing me of its truth.

I frown at him. "How the HELL can you even say that? Nobody could have seen this coming and I'm fine now! Beating yourself up about it isn't going to take us back in time and prevent it! All we can do is move forward! The only person who should feel bad about what happened is that jerk, so please don't feel guilty!"

"Yea okay." He says stoically.

"I have something else I need to talk to you about too. I should have talked to you about it earlier, but I didn't know how to approach it."

He looks at me, confused. "Okay?"

I sigh. "Let me just start off by saying in advance that I'm really sorry I was eavesdropping."

His face shows more confusion, but he stays silent. "I heard your conversation with your father in the forest on the first day of holiday..."

"You… you heard that?!" He asks with wide eyes.

I sigh. "Yea, kinda. I was on my way to meet you in the clearing when I heard you talking to someone, so I crouched down and listened."

"What all did you hear?" he asks sounding concerned.

"I heard you tell your dad you refused to do whatever the Dark Lord was 'demanding' of you. I also heard him kick you out of your house because of your refusal." I admit to him, trying my hardest to sound apologetic.

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh. Yea well I'm not too crushed about being kicked out of that mental ward. Dad was always trying to get me to become a Death Eater like him so leaving there is going to be a relief."

"Well do you have anywhere to live now?"

He shakes his head. "Nope. My whole family consists of Death Eaters so they will all support my dad's decision."

My eyes get wide and a large smile spreads on my face. "Would you be willing to move in with James, Al and me? I would have to ask James and his dad still, but we definitely have the room for you!"

"I don't kno-"

I cut him off. "At least think about it! Please?"

He smiles and nods. "Okay, I will think about it. But you need to ask James, I'm not sure he likes me too much."

"Doesn't matter. You're my best friend, not his." I say, determined to change his mind. "Now come on, let's go meet up with the others."


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Carter and I meet up with the others then walk to Divinations class. We all take our seats and Professor Trelawney begins the lesson. She tells us about crystal balls and their uses then tells us to try and predict something with our table mate. James and I never really listen to what she is saying. We are always talking about other things and this time is no different. As Professor Trelawney walks around the class and listens to other students predictions I turn to James and tell him about what I overheard in the forest on the first day of holiday.

"So what were you and Carter talking about?" he asks. He tries to appear like he doesn't care, but I can tell that it's bugging him that I sent him away.

I smirk at him. "Jamie? Do I sense a hint of jealousy?"

He rolls his eyes and smiles. "Prat…"

"I do have something I need to tell you though, it's really important." I say quietly. I scoot my chair closer to him and lean over toward him so that he will be sure to hear what I say next. "I know who the Dark Lord is…"

His eyes get wide. "Get down."

I look at him like he is mental. He says it again. "Get. Down."

This time I comply. He pulls out a silvery cloak and puts it over us. We tip toe over to Carter and James whispers "Carter, we are sneaking out of class really quick. Please grab our stuff once class is over."

Carter nods inconspicuously. James grabs my hand and tugs me down the stairs. Once we get outside he takes the cloak off of us. "We need to go to Professor McGonagall now."

I nod to him. We turn and sprint down the corridor to the stairs. I grab his arm and slow us down.

"What?" he demands.

"Do you know the password for McGonagall's office?" I ask him.

He sighs at the realization. "No. Shit! What are we going to do? We really need her help!"

I raise an eyebrow and smirk at him. "Jamie, are you really going to give up that easily?"

"Well do you have a plan?" he ask, his voice filled with anger.

I shake my head at him and laugh. "Come on James. I have a plan." I grab his hand and pull him toward the herbology greenhouse. _If we're going to find him anywhere, it will be here…_

We race past what looks to be a flying pitch, and I fling open the door to the greenhouse.

A large class of first years all turn and look at us with wide eyes. I smile politely and say "Professor Longbottom, we really need you."

Professor Longbottom looks at us nervously. "I'm in the middle of a class. Can it wa-"

James cuts him off. "No professor, it can't."

Professor Longbottom turns to his class and says "You all are dismissed. Make sure you read the next chapter though, we will be having a quiz next class." The first years cheer and run out of the classroom, escaping before he can change his mind.

"Professor we really are on a schedule. Can you come with us now please?" I look at James, who is staring at the professor.

Professor Longbottom nods and follows us out the door. "Do you mind telling me what was so important that you felt the need to interrupt my class?"

James sighs. "We need to speak to Professor McGonagall's office. It urgent."

"That was rather vague, but you two do seem to be in a hurry so I will go with you. Lead the way." Professor Longbottom extends his arm out in front of him, gesturing for us to go ahead of him. We sprint back into the castle and up the stairs. I can hear my breathing starting to stagger the more we run. The sound of our shoes slapping against the stone floor echoes throughout the corridor in front of us. We stop right outside the large stone gargoyle, breathing heavily from our run. Professor Longbottom walks up slowly behind us, one of his arms clutching his side as he takes large, wheezing breaths as he does.

"Cornish… Pasties…" he wheezed out. The gargoyle rose up, slowly revealing a set of stairs as it goes. We run up the stairs, the professor slowly trailing behind us, and knock on the door.

No answer.

We knock again, this time with more force.

Still no answer.

I can feel myself getting impatient. I knock on the door again, this time with as much for as I can muster, and yell "PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!"

Finally the door opens. "Miss Brighton, Mr. Potter? Can I help you with something?"

"Professor I need you to get my father. It is unbelievably urgent." James says in the calmest tone he can manage.

McGonagall's face twists into confusion and rage. "Mr. Potter! I am not an owl! You can contact your father with your owl!"

This time I chime in. "That's just it professor. Mr. and Mrs. Potter are at the safe house right now, so sending them an owl is out of the question. And this isn't something you can just write in a letter. It's about the new Dark Lord…" I wasn't sure if telling her the last little bit of information would sway her in our favor, but I decided to throw it out there just in case.

Her eyes widen and her mouth opens wide. "Miss Brighton! How… How do you know about that?"

"Professor, it doesn't matter how, what really matters is that we know WHO it is…" James says, his voice full of desperation.

She purses her lips and nods her head. She goes over to the fireplace and grabs some floo powder. "I will be right back with you father and Uncle Mr. Potter. Please stay here and don't touch anything." She steps into the fireplace and throws down the powder, yelling "The Burrow" as she does.

James takes a seat in the chair in front of McGonagall's desk. I look around for another chair but don't see one.

James grins. "You could always sit on my lap…"

I smirk at James and say "Well alright…" I break into a run, aiming straight for him. His eyes widen as he realizes what I'm doing.

He puts his hands up in protest. "Ari no…" he says, his voice full of panic.

I continue to run and jump up, my feet landing right in front of his chair. I look at him with a big grin. "Wait, so you DON'T want me to sit on your lap?"

He looks at me and laughs. "You're bloody mental, you know that? Now get over here and sit, but GENTLY."

As I turn to sit down the fireplace lights up with a fluorescent green flame. The first person to step out of the fireplace is McGonagall. Then the fireplace lights up again and Ron comes out. The third time it lights up Harry steps into the room.

He doesn't waste any time. "Ariana. James. Minerva here tells me you know about the Dark Lord. How do you know?"

I sit down on James' legs, earning a few raised eyebrows, and answer first. "I overheard you talking to Mr. Weasley about it when I first got into your house. Then I heard a Death Eater in the forbidden forest talking about it with someone. The person he was talking to said the new Dark Lord's name. Do you know anyone at the Ministry named Caledon?"

Harry and Ron exchange a glances then Ron turns to me. "Yes… Why?"

"That's the name that was said in the forest. Apparently Caledon is the new Dark Lord." I say flatly.

"Ariana, are you sure you heard that name? Quenby Caledon is a shy and reserved wizard-" Ron says.

I cut him off. "I'm SURE that's the name I heard! Well, just the last name anyways. And from what I heard you two saying, my dad figured out that the new Dark Lord works for the Ministry. So if there is anyone with that last name at the ministry, then isn't it worth checking out? Or are you going to blow over it and make it so my dad was murdered for nothing?"

Harry sighs. "Ariana, Caledon went missing from the ministry last week."

"I'm just telling you what I heard, okay?" I say tensely.

Ron talks this time. "If you could just tell us WHO you heard say this, then we might have something to go off of."

I stand up quickly and James grabs my wrist to hold me back. "YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME?!" I take a deep breath and sit on top of McGonnagal's desk. "I'm not going to tell you who I heard saying it because I don't know who it was. I was hiding behind a bush so my view was obstructed, but my hearing wasn't. I clearly heard him say Caledon."

James looks relieved when I move off his lap. I have been told multiple times that I have a really bony butt so I'm not surprised. I see him readjust himself slightly, probably to try and regain feeling in his legs. _Bet you that's the last time he invites me to sit on his lap!_

Harry looks at Ron then back to me and nods. "Okay Ariana. We appreciate you coming to us with this information. We will go talk to the other Aurors and the Minister about this. Come on Ron."

With that they both use the floo powder and say "Ministry of Magic." They disappear into a bright green flame, leaving McGonagall, James, and me alone in the office. McGonagall looks at us as says "Now, if there is nothing else, please head back to Gryffindor tower."

James and I nod and walk out of the office. As soon as we get back into the corridor James grabs my arm and stops me. "Spill it. Who was it in the forest?"

"Not here. Follow me." I say, pulling him along behind me. We walk through the halls in silence; the only sound coming from us is the sound of our shoes on the ground.

"Where are we going Ariana?" James asks.

I grab his hand and pull him behind me again. "Is this your way of getting me to hold your hand? To be stubborn?" I turn around and give him a wink.

He laughs. "You caught me. Although, if I had known this was all it took then I would have done it sooner."

I let out a snort. "You're a git, you know that?"

"Look at you! You sound like a right Brit!" he says with a loud laugh.

Our banter lasts the entire way into the forbidden forest and into the flowery clearing. Once we get in the clearing, James lies down in the flowers and puts his hands behind his head. "Are you going to get down here or not?"

"No I'm good." I say, distracted. I'm trying to figure out how to tell James about what happened in the forest that first day of holiday.

He holds up his hand and says "Okay well then help me up." I reach down and grab his hand. As soon as I do he pulls down really hard, causing me to fall on the ground next to him. "Gotcha! Now. Tell me who you heard say his name."

I roll my eyes. "You know, when I said 'No I'm good', I really meant 'Please pull me to the ground and try to break my face'."

"Tell me already!" he demands with a laugh.

I let out a sigh. "Okay. So Carter and I have a clearing that we go to out here also. We meet out there almost every morning. Well on the first day of holiday, the day you guys left, I ran out to the clearing to meet up with him. But I heard him already talking to someone, his dad. His dad was telling Carter that the Dark Lord was demanding something from him; the way it sounded was that the thing he was demanding was me, but anyways. Carter refused to do whatever it was that Caledon was demanding of him. So his dad kicked him out of his house. His dad said if he is going to pick 'her over his own family' then he wasn't welcomed into their house anymore. Carter said that if he was going to be free of his mental Death Eater family then he didn't care."

James opens his mouth to say something but I hold up my finger to stop him. I was going to get all of this off my chest. It felt good to tell someone about all of this and I feel like James deserves to know. He nods and pretends to zip his lips so I continue.

I pull a flower out of the ground nervously and pick the petals as I talk. "I know you didn't ask about this part, but I really feel like I should tell you. The last day of holiday, the day you and Freddie came back, Carter and I went to breakfast and got harassed by that slytherine beater. He told Carter that he had to be 'screwing me' in order to feel it was appropriate to abandon his family. He even said that I was fiery so he was going to 'give me a go'.' I wince at the memory, which does not go unnoticed by James. "Carter got really angry; he was seconds away from hexing him. He feels really guilty about everything that happened; he keeps saying it's his fault somehow. He doesn't think you like him, James. He's my best friend and a really good person though. I wanted to make sure you knew that."

I watch James, waiting to see how he reacts. He just lies next to me, staring at the sky. I sit up and face him. I reach over and pretend to unzip his lip. "You can talk now. Or react. Just do something. Please?"

He looks over at me and smiles. "Sorry, just taking it all in. Carter isn't the person I thought he was. Now, I have a question. Earlier, in McGonagall's office, you asked my dad if your father's murder was in vain. Is that why you live with us?"

I nod. I can feel myself slipping back into the memory of the explosion, into the memory of my father's death. I lightly shake my head to clear the memory and the tears starting to form. "The men who attacked us at your house are the ones who did it."

He sits up. He reaches his arms out and wraps me a big hug. "I'm so sorry Ariana. Where's your mom?"

"Uh… She died. When I was really young, actually." I say stoically.

"Oh shit Ari. I'm sorry." He says; his voice filled with guilt.

"Don't be sorry. It's not like you did it or anything. It actually doesn't upset me as much as it used to. I appreciate the sentiment though. Now, Jamie, I have a request."

He nods. "Yea okay, anything."

I laugh. "You might want to hear my request before you agree to it. What if I was going to ask you to kill someone?"

"Good point. You don't need me to kill anyone, do you?" he asks with a laugh.

"No. Well… no." I say with a grin. "Would you be willing to help me convince your father to let Carter move in with us? He has nowhere to live and you all have the room. Plus he's more than proved that he isn't a creepy Death Eater. Please?"

He smirks. "I guess I can try, but only because you were so polite about it."

A large smile spreads on my face. I spring at him and wrap my arms around his neck, giving him a hug. "Thank you James!"

I release him from my hug and sit back down. He lets out a laugh. "We should go study for O.W.L's now. They are coming up soon."

He gets up and offers me his hand. I accept and he pulls me up. He turns to walk away, his back wide open, so I take the opportunity to attack. I run up behind him and jump onto his back, giggling. He chuckles lightly. "My! You sure are clingy today, aren't you?"

"Shut up and walk." I say with a laugh.

**James' POV**

I help Ariana up from the field and turn to walk back to Gryffindor tower. As soon as I'm turned all the way around something jumps on my back, giggling as it did.

I let out a light chuckle. "My! You sure are clingy today, aren't you?"

She laughs. "Shut up and walk."

I comply. I lean forward a bit and wrap my arms under her knees to keep her in place. Her arms are wrapped around my neck and I can feel her warm breath blowing softly on the side of my face. Her silky blonde hair is tickling my face as the wind lightly blows it. Her hair smells like the flowers we had just been lying in. I traipse through the rest of the forest with her on my back.

We walk through the corridors, earning strange looks from other students as we pass by. I smile internally as I imagine what they might be thinking. I continue up the stairs, taking each step slowly. I get to the top of the stairs and we run into the one and only, Monroe. She takes one look at us and rage and jealousy covers her face. I hear her say "Slut…" as we pass by. _I wonder how Ari's going to react to that one…_

My question is answered when I hear Monroe yell "HOW** DARE** YOU FLIP ME OFF YOU SLUTTY BITCH!" I can hear Ariana stifling a giggle then she says 'I don't know why you broke up with her. She's just so lovely!"

I laugh at her sarcasm. "Isn't she though? She's quite the catch!"

We get to the portrait and Ari says "Lemon ice lolly." The portrait swings open.

I walk in and drop Ari on the couch and pretend to stretch my back out after I've set her down. She laughs and throws a pillow at me. "You're such a prat!"

"Don't lie, you enjoy it!" I say with a wink. I walk up to my room and grab my multitude of books. Since Ariana and I have all of our classes together (which my dad set up at the beginning of the year since Ari was a new student) we share books all the time. I walk back downstairs and drop the books on the floor loudly, causing some people to jump. I sit down on the couch next to Ari, who is still lying across it. She pulls her legs back as I sit down. I look at her and ask "Which book do you want first?"

She sighs and puts her legs back down across my lap. "Hmm… Give me… Ancient Runes Made Easy. We should go to the Astronomy tower and plot the star charts tonight, since it's going to be on our test next week."

I grab the thick book and pass it over to her. Then I grab A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration and flip it open and read the first page. I'm so bored I can barely focus on what I'm reading. I let out a sigh. "Ariana, do you really want to O.W.L. in Ancient Runes?"

She looks at me and sighs also. "Not really. I mean, due to recent events, I've been looking at being an Auror. Do aurors really need to know Ancient Runes? But at the same time, I want to O.W.L. in as many things as possible, you know?"

"Well I know that you have to at least O.W.L. in Potions, DADA, Transfiguration and Charms. I know my dad took Herbology too, so you might want to O.W.L. in that too." I say to her.

She shuts the Ancient Runes book she was reading and looks at me with a mischievous grin. "Well then I guess we are going on a field trip before after potions class tonight. Should we invite Carter and the girls?"

I give her a confused look. "To the astronomy tower? Go for it."

"Oh that's right. We literally JUST talked about that, huh? We can do that tomorrow night, because I really need to study for that. But I was talking about…" She sits up and whispers "…the Room of Requirements."

"How do you know about that? I didn't even learn about that until last year! I mean, the Roo-" Apparently I was talking too loud because she clasps her hand over my mouth with a giggle and looks around to see if anyone heard us.

She keeps her hand over my mouth and says "How do I learn about anything that's meant to be a secret? I eavesdrop! I overheard someone talking about it during winter holiday! Now keep your voice down, dummy!"

I nod my head and she removes her hand from my mouth. "What exactly are we going to do there?"

"I figure if we look for a room to study for O.W.L.s in then that's the kind of room we'll get. But we will have to be vague about it. Such as think of a room to study for ALL O.W.L. exams in. If that doesn't work then we can just study one subject a week. Like look for a potions room one week, then look for a DADA room the next week and so on." She says in a whisper.

I smile. "Well then, after potions class tonight, we will look for a room to study in."

**Ari's POV**

James and I rush to Defense Against the Dark Arts after our discussion about the room of requirements. I know the girls will be in our room after their class gets out, so finding them and asking them if they want to study with James and I. Carter, on the other hand, was going to be more difficult. I'm not too sure where he will be after potions class, so I have to try and catch him right away.

DADA class was spent learning counter-jinxes and defensive spells. We got into assigned partners and as one person threw a hex while the other blocked it with a defensive spell. After a couple of rounds that way, we would switch roles.

I did really well with the defensive spells; I even earned Gryffindor ten points. James lost those ten points right away though, because he felt the need to hit the teacher with a jelly-leg spell.

The reason I did so well with defensive spells is because I had to use them at my old school a lot. There was a girl there who dedicated her life to making mine a personal hell. I had to learn defensive spells fast, or risk being turned into a slug or levitated by my ankle. She didn't know it, but she was helping me become a better witch.

James and I have Potions right after DADA, so we rush from that class to Potions as soon as it ends. We settle into class and Professor Slughorn tells us we will be brewing a potion called Flegmaflip. Apparently, it is used to reduce fears and anxiety as well as make nervousness disappear. It is the potion we will have to brew for O.W.L.s so Slughorn is having us practice it now. "You all will have thirty minutes to complete the potion. Whoever finishes first gets ten points toward their house. Class is over once the first person finishes." He says with a smile.

I look at Carter, who is my assigned table partner, and tell him to set everything up while I get the ingredients. I write down a list of the things I will need and walk over to the ingredients shelf. I get to the shelf at the same time as James.

"Well hello. You come here often?" He says with a smirk.

I laugh. "Classy, Jamie… Classy..." I reach up and grab a mortar and pestle and put some moonstones in it. I also grab a bottle of helleborus syrup. As I turn to leave, I see James still looking for ingredients so I turn back and find the ingredients he will need. I place them in his hand, give him a smirk, and walk back to my table.

I place our ingredients on the table. "So Carter, what do you want to O.W.L. in?"

He lets out a laugh. "Wow, Ariana. That was subtle!"

I put the moonstones I have into the mortar and begin crushing them with the pestle. "Well James and I, maybe even the girls and Freddie, are going to be studying tonight in…" I lean over and whisper "…the room of requirements."

He smirks. "Does this mean I'm invited?"

I nudge him with my shoulder. "Of course! We are going straight after this. Well, not straight after. First James and I are going to go ask the girls and Freddie if they want to study with us too. You can come with us there too if you'd like."

I finish crushing up the moonstone and pour it into the cauldron. I wait a couple of minutes, stirring the cauldron as I wait, then put in two drops of the helleborus syrup. "We have to wait about ten minutes now. We should see a puff of silver vapor come off of the potion."

Carter nods. "I will go with you guys to ask the others. And to answer your very first question, I want to O.W.L. in Potions, DADA, Transfigurations and Charms. I want to be an Auror after I leave here. I could stop people like my bloody mental father and the rest of my Death Eater family."

"OH! Speaking of that, James said he would be willing to help me ask his dad if you can live with them." I say, staring intently at the flame under the cauldron. I turn the flame down a bit and stir the potion more.

"Really? That was nice of him…"

I laugh and look at him. "Carter, James may be cocky, but he's not an asshole. He's actually pretty nice once you get to know him."

He changes the subject. "So what do you want to O.W.L. in?"

"Actually, same things as you." I say with a laugh. I look back at the fire. "I want to be an Auror too, ever since my dad was killed."

"Oh cool." He pauses and grabs my shoulders. "Wait, did you just say your dad was killed? By who?"

I am about to answer him when a silver vapor rises off our potion. "Looks like our potion is done. Can you go get Professor Slughorn please?"

He nods. "Okay. But this conversation isn't over."

Professor Slughorn comes over and okays our potion and gives us ten points, five for Gryffindor and five for Slytherine. Carter smiles at Slughorn then turns to me. "I forgot that I have something to do right now. I will study with you guys next time." He grabs his stuff and briskly walks out of the classroom.

_That was odd…_

James walks over and we leave the classroom, talking about the Room of Requirements.

**Carter's POV**

I felt really bad for leaving Ariana so suddenly like that, but I was supposed to go see McGonagall directly after potions class. I had made friends with Ariana and her roommates, whereas I was completely alienated in the Slytherine house. I went into my own personal hell as soon as I entered the Slytherine common room and it was starting to get to me.

I'm nothing like the slytherines! Why did the sorting hat put me in that house? Maybe I had been more like them when I was eleven, but a LOT has changed since then. I used to be a bully, but I'm not like that at all anymore! So now I'm going to see if I can do something about this.

I had run into McGonagall almost a week ago and talked to her about being re-sorted. She had been a bit hesitant about it at first, but she agreed after I explained everything that was happening in my own Hogwarts house. She said that she couldn't guarantee that the hat would be alright with the re-sorting, but that we could give it a try.

I get to the gargoyle and say "Exploding Bon-Bons." The gargoyle rises up, revealing a set of ascending stairs. I walk up the stairs and knock on the door to McGonagall's office. She answers right away and invites me in.

"Mister Cass. Would you care for a peppermint frog?" She points to a bowl on her desk full of toad shaped candies. I shake my head.

"Alright. Let's get started then. Please sit in the chair there please." She gestures to a chair across from her desk and smiles. I sit in the chair and wait. "Are you sure you want to do this Mister Cass?"

I nod my head again. "More than anything."

She purses her lips. "We've never done anything like this. But if you're sure then we will proceed." She grabs the sorting hat and places it on my head.

As soon as she puts it on my head the hat begins talking. _"My! I haven't seen you in a while Mister Cass! What brings you in today? Yes, of course. You want to be re-sorted._

I nod and the hat continues._ "Yes, I see. Things really are bad for you in the Slytherine house, aren't they? I remember when I first sorted you. I wanted to put you in Gryffindor, but you insisted on Slytherine. I stand by my choice before, I think you would do well in Gryffindor. Ahh yes, I see. The girl you fancy is in Gryffindor too."_

"Just stick to the sorting…" I say quietly.

The hat chuckles. "_Yes of course. Well then, if you are sure you want to be re-sorted, you are now in… GRYFFINDOR!"_

Professor McGonagall takes the hat off and places it back on its shelf. "Congratulations Mister Cass, you are now in Gryffindor house. However, you WILL have to finish out this year in Slytherine house. You will start next year in Gryffindor house."

I look at her with exasperation. "Seriously?! I just want out of that house as soon as possible!"

"I'm sorry Mister Cass. You are just going to have to wait until next year!" she says firmly.

I nod gruffly and walk out of her office. I guess waiting until next year isn't that bad, I just wish it could have been sooner so I could hang out with Ariana and her roommates all the time. I continue to walk down the corridor in silence, lost in thoughts about the Gryffindor girl I fancy.

**Ari's POV**

I walk into my room and find Bella wearing a very pretty blue dress with her hair done. "Um, what's going on?"

Bella turns around and looks at me, a large smile on her face. "Oh Ariana! Freddie has FINALLY asked me on a date! You know how long I've fancied him! And now we are going on a date!"

"Bella, it's almost curfew. Where are you two going to go?" I ask, a small smile playing on my face.

"He won't tell me. He says it's a surprise! How romantic is that?"

I laugh. "So romantic Bells. I'm really happy for you!"

Bella skips out of the room to go meet Freddie. I turn to Astoria, who is lying on her bed flipping through a magazine. "Where's Rachelle?"

"Hm? Oh, she's out with Logan Radley." She says as she thumbs through the magazine.

"Isn't he that Ravenclaw from our Divinations class?" I take advantage of her distraction to change into more comfortable clothes. I grab my blue shirt and grey pants and change into them.

"Mhm. He asked her out last week over holiday. They've been inseparable ever since." She explains.

"Oh okay. Well James and I are going to go study for O.W.L.s. Did you want to come with us?" I say while slipping into my gray boots.

She looks up from her magazine and shakes her head. "I appreciate you asking, but I told Bells I would wait for her so she could tell me about her date."

I smile to her. "Okay. I don't know when I will be back, so don't wait up."

"That's so reassuring!" she says with a laugh.

I wave to her and walk out. James is already waiting in the common room when I get down there. "So Freddie and Bella, huh?"

He laughs. "Yea. I knew he fancied her, I just didn't know he was going to ask her out!"

We walk out of the common room into the corridor. "I thought that's what was supposed to happen when you like someone." I say with a laugh.

"Well yea, but I didn't know he fancied her that much! He and I talk about everything but he didn't tell me about this!" he says with a smile, but I can hear an edge of irritation in his voice as he speaks.

I loop my arm through his. "Do you talk to him about the girls you like? And do you tell him when you plan on asking her out or where you're going to take her?"

He sighs. "I guess you're right. I used to tell him about all the girls I fancied, but with this new girl I fancy, I don't feel like I can tell him anything."

I smirk. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say I was right?"

"I just told you I fancy someone and YOU focus on the fact that I said you are right." He says with a laugh.

"Well I figure you liking girls is pretty common. It's probably something I'm going to hear a lot. But hearing you say I'm right, that could be once in a lifetime!" I look at him and wink.

He shakes his head and smirks. "You're impossible, you know that?"

We continue to walk through the hallway arm in arm. "So who's this girl you like and why is this the first I'm hearing about her?"

He smirks again. "We really should be concentrating on finding the room."

I nod and we continue. I put all of my thoughts into finding a room for us to study for O.W.L.s in. As we walk through an empty hallway I hear something next to me. I stop and turn my head toward the noise.

On the stone wall in front of us, a large wooden door is forming. It ornately decorated; black iron swirls cover the door and it has a large iron door handle. I turn and look at James with a big grin. "Jamie, I think we've found the room."

He walks forward and pulls on the handle. The door opens, revealing a very large room. It is large enough to easily fit 300 people in it. The room is divided up into six different sections with a large empty circle in the middle. We walk in slowly and visit each section. There is a section for Transfiguration, a section for Charms, a section for DADA, a section for Potions, a section for Astronomy and a section for Divinations.

The transfiguration section has a long wooden table lined with different objects. On the floor next to the table is an easel with instructions. The next section, the charms section, also has a long wooden table with an egg cup and on the floor is an easel with instructions on it. The third section for DADA has five moving dummies, all holding wands, each with bulls eyes painted on them in different places. A couple of paces over is a cabinet that is shaking back and forth sporadically. Next to that is a space with a moving dementor dummy. The potions section has a large shelf with all kinds of ingredients on it, some that I've never even heard of. It has a table with a cauldron in front of it for brewing potions. The section for astronomy is the entire ceiling; the night sky covered the whole ceiling. There were multiple blank star charts on an easel in the astronomy "section" and a telescope for us to look at the stars more closely. The final section, divinations, was the smallest. It had a round table with a chair on either side. The middle of the table has a large crystal ball, and there is a tea cup in front of each of the chairs. A bag of tea leaves is by the table. The center of the room has a large circle with two red couches and four red chairs. It looks to be a place to study from books and such.

James and I stare awestruck at everything in front of us. I turn to James and grin. "This is going to be fun…"

He smiles "Where should we start?"

"Do you know how to produce a patronus?" I ask while looking at the dementor.

He laughs. "Of course! My dad taught me in my third year. Do you want me to teach you?"

"No I just wanted to give you an opportunity to brag." I wrinkle my nose and stick out my tongue. "Of course I want you to teach me!"

"Alright sassy pants. Get over here then!" He says while walking across the gigantic room to the dementor dummy. I follow him over there and sit on the floor.

"Okay, so what you are going to want to do is think of a happy memory. A memory that fills you with so much happiness it feels like it's going to burst out of you. Do you have your thought?" He smiles. "Okay good. Now watch me."

He steps in front of the dementor dummy and points his wand at it. "Expecto Patronum!" A skinny, scraggly looking wolf erupts from the end of his wand and runs right at the dementor dummy. He turns around with a shocked smile on his face. "My patronus is… a coyote?"

I look at him with confusion. "You didn't know what your patronus was?"

He shakes his head. "I can normally get a non-corporeal patronus, but I've never been able to produce a corporeal patronus."

"Okay. My turn!" I say as I jump up. I stand in front of the dummy and close my eyes. I think of my happy memory, my memory of when James and I kissed, and I let it consume me. I open my eyes and point my wand at the dummy. "Expecto Patronum!" A large white bird shoots out of the end of my wand. It hits the dummy and bursts into wispy patronus flames. I move my wand around the room and the bird reforms and follows. It flaps around the room, squawking as it does. I catch James looking at me and I drop my wand, the patronus disappearing when I do. I can feel the heat rise in my face as he says "Your patronus is a phoenix. How bloody cool is that! And you got a corporeal patronus on your first try! What was your happy thought?"

Suddenly I can't control myself anymore. The happiness from my memory is still flowing through me and I feel like there is only one thing I can do. I exhale sharply and say "This."

I walk across the floor and get on my tip toes. I grab his face with both hands, pull him down and kiss him. I can feel him hesitate with confusion, but sink into the kiss after a second. Our lips fit together perfectly, as if they were two puzzle pieces finally finding their match. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer so I wrap my arms around his neck. I feel the room around me slowly evaporating, until all that's left in my mind is us.

Our kiss lasts for a few moments (although, for me, the few moments felt like a lifetime) until I pull away. I step back and put my hand on my forehead, still a little dizzy from what just ensued. "Shit. Sorry…"

He rubs the back of his neck and chuckles. "Don't be."

I smile and point to the transfigurations table. "I'm… uh… I'm going to go work on transfiguring stuff…" I turn from him and walk toward the table. What the hell did I just do? He had told me earlier that he liked somebody! By kissing him, I was just getting my hopes up for something that isn't going to happen.

**James' POV**

Holy shit. What the hell just happened?

Ari just kissed me, that's what happened.

Holy shit Ariana just kissed me…

If only she knew that she is the girl I was talking about earlier. If only she knew that our first kiss was what brought my corporal patronus out.

But she doesn't know. I don't know how to tell her either.

I walk over to the potions table and begin throwing random ingredients into the cauldron. I stir it around and throw in random drops of syrup. The room is starting to spell pretty rancid, but I don't care. This is really helping me to get my frustration out.

I hear Ariana laugh and say "Geez Jamie! That smells terrible! What the hell are you brewing over there?"

I turn to the transfiguration table to answer, but she's not there. I turn around to look for her and see she is laying on one of the couches flipping through a book. I look at my watch and realize we've been in here for at least three hours. "Um Ariana? We should probably get going. It's currently two hours past curfew."

Her head shoots up and she looks at me wide eyed. "Shit! Let's go then!" She jumps up and puts all of the books into her bag. She stares at me and taps her foot on the ground. "Merlin's beard Jamie! Let's go!"

I laugh and walk her way. She opens the door and peers outside. Once she's determined the coast is clear she steps out into the corridor and waves me out. We creep through the corridor silently, listening for any signs of movement. We are almost to Gryffindor tower when we hear something in the corridor ahead of us. One minute Ari's in front of me, the next moment she's not. I stop and whisper "Ariana?" She jumps up and pulls me into the shadow of a suit of armor. As I fall back I yell "What the!"

She clasps her hand over my mouth again and silently shushes me. Christiana, the prefect who busted me and the guys, walks by us during her patrol. We wait until she round the corner into another corridor. As soon as she does we jump up and hurry to the portrait. We say the password and sneak in. Ariana turns to me and smiles. "Good night Jamie. I don't know about you, but I'm going back tomorrow." She hesitates as if she wants to say something else, but then changes her mind last minute and walks away.

**Ari's POV**

James and I have gone back to the Room of Requirements every night for the past three months straight. Nothing happened with him though. In fact, it was literally all studying and practicing for those three months. We were still friends, that's for sure, but I wanted badly to be so much more than that.

Today was the day before O.W.L.s and all the teachers had cancelled classes so we could study. I tried to find Astoria to study, but I couldn't find her anywhere. Bella and Freddie were off "studying" somewhere, and Rachelle was hanging out with her boyfriend. I have no idea where Carter is, I haven't seen him too much since for the past three months. It is actually starting to worry me. We used to hang out every day and now I'm not even sure if he's alive.

I walk down into the Gryffindor common room and see James studying on the couch. I walk over and stand above his head. "Whatcha studying James?"

He looks up and smiles. "Are you heading out to study?"

I nod. "I have to work on my charms. Can you come help me?"

"I don't know… I find you pretty charming. But I could understand why you'd want MY help. I'm as charming as they get." He says with a smirk.

I laugh. "Just come on." I walk out of the common room to the Room of Requirements. I am always awestruck by the enormity of the room.

James comes in behind me and laughs. "Every time, Ariana."

I turn to him and stick out my tongue.

He laughs and walks to the charms section. "I love how mature you are. It's commendable, really."

"Shut up and teach me!" I say as I walk over to the charms section. I bump him with my shoulder and smirk at him.

(Break)

James and I are walking out of our last O.W.L. when we run into the asshole slytherine who attacked me. I think James told me his name is Castor Perlorn.

"Well well well. What do we have here? How was your detention, James?" he asks with a smirk.

James laughs angrily. "That detention was worth every spell and punch I threw!"

Perlorn laughs and looks at me with narrowed eyes and a sneer. "As were mine. Well I really must be going. I have… plans… tonight. I do hope you'll show, Ariana."

He casts us one last menacing smile and walks away. I look at James and shrug. "I have NO idea what he's talking about, but I definitely want to find out."

"Ariana, no. That's a REALLY bad idea…" he says firmly.

I sigh. "Okay fine. I won't follow him, but can we go back to the common room and take a nap? I feel like I haven't slept in years!"

He laughs. "Well I guess we can do that. I AM pretty tired."

We walk into the common room and run up to our rooms to put our things away. I change into my pajamas, then I walk back down the stairs and lie on the couch to wait for James. He walks down the stairs with two blankets. He tosses one to me and then lies on the other end of the couch I'm on, covering himself with the other blanket.

I smile and cover myself with the blanket he threw me. "Thanks Jamie!"

"You know, if anyone else called me that I would jinx them in a second…" he says with a smirk.

I laugh and wink at him. "It's just because you love me so much!"

Just then Carter and Astoria walk in together. "Well hey there strangers!"

They smile and sit on the couch next to us. "I'm so glad O.W.L.s are over. What are you two going to be up to for the rest of the day?"

James looks at me and we laugh. "Well we planned on napping, but if you-"

"We're in!" they both say, cutting us off.

I toss them my blanket and say "You two can share that one. James and I will share his."

I pull up the end of James' blanket, pulling it up to my chest. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

_I am walking through the Forbidden Forest along a well-known path. It is the path that I walked every morning so many months ago; the path that leads to the clearing Carter and I used to hang out in. I walk through the forest slowly, running my hands along the tree trunks as I go. The dirt and leaves lining the forest floor crunch beneath my feet as I walk._

_I can hear a low grunting off in the direction of the clearing so I head toward the noise. The grunts sound pained and full of panic so I pick up my pace. I slowly enter the clearing, expecting to see a wounded creature but I instead find an injured Albus Potter lying on the ground._

_Standing across from him is the Death Eater who has haunted my dreams and my reality; the blonde haired, green eyed man. His thin lips are twisted into a sneer as he stands over Al, his wand aimed directly at Al's chest._

"_Al? What's going on?" I yell out to him. I reach down and quietly grab my wand from my boot._

_Neither of the clearings occupants look in my direction. Al continues to stare at the green eyed man with fear while the green eyed man sneers at Al, anger etched on his face. Castor Perlorn walks out of the forest now, his wand raised at Al. He yells out "CRUCIO!"_

_Al's face twists from fear to pain. His eyes narrow, his teeth clench tightly and his back arches violently as he rolls onto his side. His hands turn to fists, knuckles white from the pressure. Perlorn sneers and releases Al from the curse. He lolls to the side, gasping for breath while he can. All I want to do is run to him. I want to save him. I raise my wand and point it at Perlorn._

_Suddenly the green eyed Death Eater looks directly at me, his eyes staring at me with malice. "You can still save him Ariana, but you're running out of time. I'm not a patient man, and you've kept me waiting for some time now." He lets out a slow, menacing laugh then waves his hand. The people and the clearing get further away. I reach out to Al, but the more I reach the further away they get._

_The Death Eater's low, threatening voice says "Don't keep me waiting, Ariana. Come alone."_

I jerk upright, sweat dripping down my forehead. I look around and realize where I am. I slowly get up, doing my best not to wake anyone as I do. I glance at James who is still sleeping peacefully.

_I wonder if he knows his brother is being tortured in the forest because of me…_

I tip toe upstairs and put my grey boots on. I slip my wand into my boot and walk back downstairs. I am about to walk out into the corridor when someone grabs my arm.

"Ariana? Where are you going?"

I turn and see Carter rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I have to go Carter. I have to go alone. Go back to sleep." I say with a smile. I pat his hand reassuringly then walk out.

**Carter's POV**

I smile back to Ariana and shuffle back to the couch I was sleeping on. I lie back down and close my eyes. I suddenly jerk back up and fling the blanket off of me. "James! James get up!"

James looks at me groggily. "Wha' the bloody hell do you want Cass?"

"James, Ariana is gone…" I say urgently.

He sits up quickly. "Where?"

I look down at the ground then back up to him. "I don't know…"


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Ari's POV**

I slowly make my way through the Hogwarts corridors, hiding in the shadows when necessary and running in the light when it's clear. I can't risk being caught, but I don't want to take too long. Al's life depends on my speed.

I speed through the corridors and out into the humid night air. I take a deep breath and continue on toward the Forbidden Forest. The air is warm but there is a slight cool wind blowing. The wind is very refreshing as it contrasts the humidity. I wander into the forest and slink through the shadows. I know this forest is extremely dangerous at night. With the stories I'd heard throughout the year and the noises I heard escaping from the forest at night, I'd learned to fear this place.

I walk along the memorized path, lost in the recollection of the dream I had just had. I think back to how nice Al had been to me when I had been moved into his house. I think about how we had pranked each other once, but never really interacted after that. If we didn't really ever interact, why was I putting myself in harms way to save him? I knew the answer to the question before I had even finished asking it.

James.

James would be crushed if something happened to Al, and rightfully so! Al was his younger brother and, if something was to happen to him, James would blame himself. I also didn't want James to have to go through losing someone in his family. I had been through that and I know the effects it can have. I was just his friend, and I would rather him lose a friend than family. Friends can be replaced, family can't.

I finally get to the edge of the clearing and hide behind a tree. I poke my head out from behind the tree and peer into the clearing. It's empty, except for the large wooden post. I cautiously walk into the clearing, my wand drawn and pointed in front of me defensively.

Suddenly loads of black streams hit the ground, transforming into people as they land. I flick my wand and yell "Stupefy!" The spell shoots across the opening and hits one of the Death Eaters. His body slumps to the ground as soon as the spell hits him. I then turn and point my wand at a group of Death Eaters who had just landed. I yell out "Reducto!" Orange sparks fly out of my wand toward the group. The ground explodes underneath them, dirt and debris flying through the air. The Death Eaters that I shoot the spell at fly into the air then plummet to the ground, falling into the crater with a resounding _thud_. There look to be about five of them limply lying in the crater. The tops of the trees around them are lit with flames from the explosion.

The blonde haired man appears in front of me and hits me across the face, my face jerking to the side at the impact. I look back up and smirk. I can feel my lip bleeding from the hit. "That's it? Pathetic." My smirk drops. I reach up and scratch his face and growl "Now where's Albus?"

This time the man smirks. "Oh? My dear, we don't have Albus. You were tricked; you walked right into our trap." He gestures to someone behind me. They walk up behind me and grab my wrists violently. I try to wriggle free, but the persons grip is too tight. They put my wrists in one hand and take my wand with the other.

The man looks to the person behind me and says sharply "Chain her up Perlorn. We can't have her escaping before the Dark Lord gets here." He sneers at me. "He will be so pleased you are here."

**James' POV**

"Where is she, Cass?! Think hard!" I demand, desperation and fear battling to become my only emotion. I grab my wand and look at Astoria, who is rubbing her eyes. "Astoria, get up. Ariana is gone and we need to find her. Go get Bella and Rachelle please."

She jumps off the couch and runs up to her room. She comes back down the stairs, flanked by the other two girls. They look tired but worried. _Astoria must have told them what is going on._

I look at Carter. "Think hard about where she could be. I'm going to go get Freddie."

I run up the stairs and into my room. I walk over to Freddie's bed and fling the covers off of him. He slowly opens his eyes, sees who flung his covers and glares.

"What the bloody hell do you want James? It's one o'clock in the bloody morning! Piss off!" he says harshly.

"Freddie, Ariana is missing. I'm going to go find her. Will you please come help me?" I say desperately. I walk over to my chest and put the invisibility cloak in my pocket.

He frowns. "Yea, of course mate! Let me get my wand and I'll be ready to go."

I run back down the stairs and look at Carter expectantly. He shakes his head, irritating the hell out of me. How could he just let her go like that?

Freddie quickly walks down the stairs and smiles to Bella. She lightly smiles back then turns back to me. I look at everyone. "Okay, let's head out and look around the castle. She's got to be around here somewhere." They all nod. I wave to them to follow and they agree.

Suddenly the ground shakes with a huge tremor. I run to the window and look out. A large part of the forest is orange. _Probably fire… Wait… _

"She's in the forbidden forest!" I exclaim, hope slowly filling me. We all lightly walk out of the common room into the corridor.

We get a few steps down the hall when Carter grabs my arm abruptly. "We should check the clearing that she and I used to hang out in…"

I nod and motion for him to lead the way. He walks in front of me and slowly leads us down the corridors. Luckily, we didn't run into anyone as we were sneaking out. We get outside and stop for a moment. I can smell burning wood and there is a black smoke lifting from somewhere in the forest. We continue into the forest, making sure to stay in our group as we go. We wander through the forest, following the scent of burning wood as we go.

We finally come to the outside of a giant clearing full of about 100 Death Eaters standing in a circle; all decked out in their black hoods and silver masks. A couple of the Death Eaters are lying on the ground lifelessly. There is one in the middle without his hood up or mask on. He has greasy blonde hair that's been slicked back and a pointed nose. His green eyes are filled with malice.

He has a few large, deep gashes on his cheek, suggesting the girl he is holding captive wasn't taken without a fight. His cuts are still slowly oozing blood. He has his wand pointed at the girl, whose arms are chained to a large wooden post. The man mutters something quietly to the girl, which she responds to by spitting on him. She lets out a loud scream full of anger. Cass reaches his arm up and brings the back of his hand crashing into the girls face. Her face jerks to the side at the force of the impact, blood coming out of her mouth. The girl spits out the blood in her mouth and turns back to Cass, a smile playing on her injured lips. "Is that all you've got? You hit like my grandma." The girl seems to be glowing with rage.

_Only Ariana would think it appropriate to make a smart ass comment in this sort of situation…_ I laugh quietly then remember the gravity of the situation. I look back at the clearing and continue watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He snarls. "You're lucky the Dark Lord wants you alive. I would end your life right here and now if that weren't the case, Ariana Brighton. Until then, I get to have my fun with you. CRUCIO!"

_Ariana…_

Ariana clenches her teeth together with eyes wide, trying to hold in cries of pain. My heart aches at the look on her face. I know I have to do something, I just don't know what. If we attack Cass, the other Death Eaters will surely kill all of us AND Ariana…

"What's wrong little girl, no smart ass comments left? Shame, really. I thought you would be a more adverse foe. Now, you shall endure the same pain your father did before I killed him! CRUCIO!"

He yells his curse with more feeling this time, causing a small cry of pain to escape her lips. Cass smiles at the slight glimpse of weakness. The look on Ariana's face shows the excruciating pain she is feeling. The moment I see her face my resolve fades. I don't care if I die in the process, I will save this girl, no matter what. I look to the others behind me and make a circle motion with my fingers, signaling for them to circle around the forest. They nod and do as I instructed.

Cass lets out another anger-filled crucio, red sparks flying at Ariana. This time he breaks her; she cries out, agonizing pain filling her face. Her feet lift off the ground and her arms bend as her body gives way under the pain.

I nod to the others and we all stealthily walk out to the clearing. I point my wand at some of the Death Eaters and say "Incendo!" Fire shoots out of my wand and hits them; they instantly catch on fire. They scream loud, blood curdling screams as their bodies are engulfed in flames. The clearing is now ablaze. I look over at the others, who are all battling Death Eaters of their own. The scene I see is intense.

The fire is blazing out of control around us. The smoke from the fire is curling into the sky, creating tall pillars of black smoke to contrast against the night sky. In the sky there are black streams of Death Eaters fleeing from the fight while, on the ground, missed spells are flying around wildly.

Bella's clothes have singe marks all over them and her short hair is flying around messily as she fights. She is fighting with one Death Eater when another one tries to hit her from behind. Freddie sees this and races over to save her. He hits the Death Eater who was trying to hex Bella from behind with a jelly-leg spell. He wobbles away, his legs barely able to keep him upright. Freddie then turns and hits the Death Eater Bella is fighting directly with stupefy. Bella runs over and gives him a quick peck on the cheek then runs off to fight another Death Eater, dodging spells as she runs.

Astoria has two large cuts on her face that are bleeding profusely. She is fighting two Death Eaters at once and doing quite well. She blasts one of them with a petrificus totalus, locking his entire body together. Then she turns to the next one and locks herself in battle with him.

Carter's clothes are torn and he has ash smeared across his face. He is fighting against Perlorn. The battle is pretty equal in skill, but Carter looks like he is going to kill Perlorn, whereas his foe has more of a smug look on his face. They throw different curses and hexes at each other, while dodging whatever the opponent throws.

Rachelle is next to me, losing her battle with the Death Eater she is fighting. She is sitting behind a defensive charm while the Death Eater shoots curses at her. Her arm is bleeding from a large cut she got during the battle and her face is pale. I point my wand at him and yell "Expelliarmus!" The Death Eater's wand shoots out of his hand, leaving his defenseless. Rachelle stands up and hits him with a curse. She looks at me and yells "Thanks!" I nod and she runs off to fight someone else. I take this time to walk over to Ariana, who is hanging from the wooden post by the chain holding her up.

I grasp her chin and lift her face gently. "Ariana, I really need you to stay with me. I could use your help right now." I know my face is full of worry as I wait for her to answer.

She smiles weakly at me. "Don't worry Jamie, I've got this. Can you get me my wand though? I'm not going to be much help if I don't have anything to fight with. Perlorn has it."

I flick my wand and mutter "Accio Ariana's wand." Her wand flies out of Perlorn's back pocket and into my hand. I turn to the chains holding her up, point my wand at them and say "Alohamora." The lock clicks open and Ari falls to the ground. I place her wand in her hand and gently help her up. She rubs her wrists gingerly and looks around us. Most of the Death Eaters had fled, but the remaining few are locked in battle with the others. Ariana looks over at Carter then back to me. "James, in case things don't go well, I have something I need to tell you. I know you already like someone, and now is probably the WORST possible time to tell you, but… I like you. A lot… Just thought you should know…" She quickly pecks me on the cheek then runs over to Carter and helps him fight Perlorn.

I turn and look at the others again; I want to see who needs help. It looks like Perlorn is the only person left fighting; every other Death Eater is on the ground. The girls and Freddie are all checking on each other, looking for injuries and exchanging stories about their battles. Bella and Freddie are hugging each other and laughing. She has some cuts but seems unscathed other than that. Rachelle on the other hand, has a large cut on her forehead. The cut is slowly oozing blood down her face. Astoria has her wand out still. She is trying to heal the cut on Rachelle's head while also applying pressure to her own cuts on her face.

I look up to the sky and see dark wisps flying down toward us. "Uh… guys? I don't think it's over yet…"

Suddenly someone's arm is around my neck, a wand pointed under my chin. I look out of my peripherals and see that the others are in the same position as me.

I look forward and see Ariana and Carter are in the same position as well.

Two more dark wisps land in front of me. Their bodies obstruct my view of Ariana and Carter, so I focus my attention on listening to everything intently.

I hear Carter say bitterly "Dad…"

The blonde man laughs. "I am not your father anymore!" He then looks next to him and says "My Lord, I have gotten you the girl as you requested. She fell right into our trap!" The man next to Carter's dad laughs menacingly "Good work Cass." Then the two men turn around and look at us. I recognize the man next to Carter's dad right away.

It's Caledon...

**Ari's POV**

I hate feeling trapped and I hate feeling powerless. So far tonight, I had gone from being free to trapped, back to being free then back to being trapped. After James freed me from the chains, I ran over to help Carter fight Perlorn. I had only cast one spell when Perlorn disappeared. The next thing I know someone's arm is wrapped tightly around my neck with a wand pointed at my throat. I try to free myself but the wand jabs into my throat more. I look across from me and see that Rachelle, Bella, Astoria, Freddie and James are all in the same position as me. I glance to my left and see Carter is stuck too.

Suddenly two back streams land in front of Carter and I. One is the blonde man who has terrorized me for what has felt like forever. I hear Carter say bitterly "Dad…"

The blonde man laughs then looks at Carter with a sneer. "I am not your father anymore!"

My face drops as realization hits.

Carter's father had been the one who killed my father, who invaded my dreams, who had tortured me just moments ago. His father had been a constant fear in my life. He had been there when my mother died, and again when my father died. He had taken everything I loved from me, and I had become best friends with his son!

Carters' dad turns to the man next to him and says "My Lord, I have gotten you the girl as you requested. She fell right into our trap!"

The man next to Carter's dad laughs ominously. "Good work Cass."

_So THIS is the infamous Caledon…_

The men turn around and take in the scene. Then they turn back around and Caledon says "First things first. Give me the traitor."

The Death Eater holding Carter releases his neck and shoves him forward. He stumbles at the force of the push, but he recovers quickly. Caledon looks at Carter's father and says "Take care of him."

His father looks at Carter with a large sneer. My eyes widen and I struggle against the grip of the person holding me as I realize what's about to happen. "NO! You can't DO THIS!"

Caledon scoffs at me. "Shut up you insolent child! I am the Dark Lord! I can do as I please! This boy denied my request; therefore he must pay for his disobedience! He should have been honored that I requested something that important of him!"

Carter laughs angrily. "One little problem. You requested the life of my best friend. I wouldn't give her up to anyone. She's plays a very important role in your demise, and I wouldn't want to rob her of that joy by giving her to you." He looks over to me. "Ariana, promise me you will beat this asshole."

I nod my head and quietly say "I promise Carter."

Carter's dad yells "ENOUGH!" He lifts his wand, pointing it at Carter, and yells "Avada Kedavra!" A jet of green sparks flies from the end of his wand and hit Carter in the chest.

Everything happens in slow motion after that. I watch the curse hit Carter. I can hear Astoria screaming and crying somewhere in the background. I can see the anger in Carter's eyes disappear as his lifeless body falls to the ground. I can feel myself coming unhinged. Anger is flowing through me freely now. "YOU MURDEROUS ASSHOLE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? HE WAS YOUR **SON! **HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!" Tears are flowing liberally down my face as I stare at Carter's body. Carter's asshole father had taken my mother, my father, and now my best friend. Caledon moves toward me and my hatred and anger seem to grow.

He gets inches from my face. He twists his mouth into a cruel sneer. "Listen closely. I want you to tell everyone you know that there is a new, more powerful Dark Lord now. I want every witch, wizard and muggle to fear the name Lord Caledon! Do you think you can handle that?"

I spit on his face and scowl. He wipes off his face and lets out a low cackle. "I'll take that as a yes… Unless you would like for me to take another loved one?" He turns and points his wand at James.

I narrow my eyes at him and try to jerk myself free from the Death Eater's grasp. He laughs once again. "My, my. You ARE a feisty one. But I will break you. You will know fear by the time I am done with you. You may know pain, but you don't know fear. Not yet, anyways." He flicks his wand, which is still pointed at James and says "Cruc-"

Suddenly I hear something behind us. Then the wand on my throat moves slightly as the Death Eater says "Stupefy." My world becomes blinding white and I feel myself falling to the ground.

**James' POV**

Carter's dead body lies in front of us.

I can hear Ariana screaming at Cass; she is borderline hysterical. Astoria is sobbing behind me, which is odd. I didn't know she and Carter were close enough for her to be affected by this. Maybe she is upset because she just witnessed someone being killed.

I see Caledon walking up to Ariana and I can feel myself conflicting between anger and fear. I try to free myself from the Death Eater's grip without success. He says something to her quietly and she responds by spitting on his face. He laughs and wipes off his face. He says something else then turns and points his wand at me. Ariana narrows her eyes at him. He turns to her but keeps his wand pointed at me. He says something else then turns back to me. He flicks his wand and says "Cruc-"

Suddenly McGonagall, Professor Longbottom, my dad and Uncle Ron come bursting through the tree line. I see the Death Eater who was holding Ariana hit her with a spell and she falls to the ground, unconscious. I feel the Death Eater behind me shift and then say "Stupefy!" The last thing I hear before I pass out is my dad calling my name.


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**Ari's POV**

I am awoken by sunlight lightly resting on my face. I blink a few times to try and adjust to the light before looking around the room. There are beds all around me, each with a person in it. _I must be in the hospital wing. What happ-? _

I suddenly remember what happened and why I am here. I close my eyes and fight the tears that are already forming. I squeeze my eyes shut tight and force myself back to sleep.

_I look around me. The sun is up high in the clear blue sky. I appear to be at a café, the exact café my dad used to take me to all the time back in America. I look at the table we used to always sit at._

"_Dad?"_

_He smiles and gestures to the seat across from him. "Hi sweetheart. Why don't you take a seat?"_

_I walk over and sit in the chair. My mouth is open in shock, and I make no attempt to close it. Everything looks so real, so normal. I know it's a dream though. Nothing in my life is ever this calm or perfect. "Dad what's going on?"_

"_We need to talk, honey." He orders a hamburger and lemonade from a waiter then turns back to me. "How are you?"_

_I scoff. "How am I? Both of my parents are dead! I just witnessed my best friend's murder! I don't have many things left to lose, but I know it's only a matter of time before it's all gone too. I terrified that this new Dark Lord can't be defeated and I miss my mother. I'm just dandy, dad. Besides, since when have you cared how I'm doing?"_

_He chuckles. "I know it seems hard now, but you can't let this defeat you. Caledon wants you to give up. It would be so much easier for him to defeat you if you've already defeated yourself."_

"_Dad, you don't understand. I feel like I've got nothing left. I feel completely and utterly alone. I feel like I HAVE to isolate myself because, if I don't, more people will end up dying. I can't handle having anymore people's deaths on my hands." I say firmly._

_He lets out a sigh. "Ariana, do you know why your patronus is a phoenix?"_

_I shake my head._

"_Because you've been through so much, yet you always manage to get right back up and fight. No matter how many times you burn up, you always come out a newer, better, tougher person. Your experiences don't make you who you are. The way you react and handle those situations does. You've always handled bad situations with strength and courage. Don't let fear change that."_

_The waiter my dad ordered from walks out with his food and drink and sets them on the table. My dad takes a sip of his lemonade and says "Now get back out there and show them what you're made of."_

_We both get up and I give him a hug. I never realized how much I missed his hugs until now. They felt safe; they felt like home. "I love you dad." I can feel tears stinging my eyes. "I miss you. **THIS** you, not the you who showed up after mom died."_

_He laughs. "I love you to sweetheart. I'm so proud of you."_

_I let go of him and walk away, wiping away the tears rolling down my face as I do._

I open my eyes slowly and look around. I think about my dream and shakily sit up. I reach my hand up and feel a bandage on my cheek. "What the…"

"Please don't touch that. It is finally starting to heal!"

I drop my hand quickly and look up. Madam Pomfrey is walking toward my bed. "You have a visitor. Are you feeling up to it?"

I nod. She turns to the door. "Come in Mister Potter."

Harry walks into the hospital wing and sits in the chair by my bed. "How are you feeling Ariana?"

I rub my neck and say "A little sore, but I will survive. Where are the others? Are they alright?"

He chuckles lightly. "They are fine. They were let out of here yesterday. They are all packing up their rooms now."

"Am I allowed to leave the hospital wing now?" I ask while looking around for Madam Pomfrey. I see her over by another bed. She responds without looking up from the other patient.

"Yes Miss Brighton, you are free to leave."

Harry looks at me as I crawl out of the hospital bed. "Would you like to ride the train back or would you like to floo back with me and Ron?"

"I would like to ride the train back. I have some people I need to talk to. I appreciate the offer though." I say. I have to talk to the others about what happened in the clearing. Not so much TALK to them, but more to THANK them for everything. I walk out of the hospital wing and rip the bandage off my cheek. I make my way to the portrait and into the common room. I walk up the stairs to my room and slowly begin to pack my things. This year has been a rough one. At Salem Academy, nothing ever really happened. I was ignored and practically invisible but here… Here things managed to go from bad to worse. I was SOMEBODY here, and craziness followed me throughout the school.

I finish packing my trunk and close the top of it. I pack up my bags and sling them over my shoulder. I walk back down the stairs and into the common room. I stop and glance around the room I had spent so much time in. The red chairs and couches sit in front of the fireplace, all sitting in the same place they were when I first got here. The room looks the exact same as it did when I first saw it. It comforts me to know some things don't change.

I turn and walk out into the corridor. I make my way down to the carriages and hop in. It looks to be one of the last carriages since not many people are on the carriage with me. The carriage pulls away toward the train.

Once the carriage stops, I hop out and board the train. I walk to the back, looking for an empty compartment. I am pretty close to the back when my search is interrupted by someone calling my name.

"Ariana? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I turn around and see Astoria sitting in a booth by herself. Her eyes are puffy and red as if she's been crying. I walk into the booth and sit down. "Of course Tori." I don't plan on staying in the booth the entire ride; I really want to find a booth by myself so I can figure out what I'm going to say to everyone.

Astoria sniffles and shuts the compartment door. "I have something I need to tell you. I'm not sure how you will feel about it though. It's about Carter."

I look at her hesitantly. "Okay… Go ahead…"

She sighs. "Carter and I were dating…"

"What? When did that happen?" I say with a small smile.

"About three months ago. I ran into him in the hall the day after Bella's date with Freddie. We got together and decided to study for O.W.L.s together. I had fancied him for a while before that, but studying with him just made me fancy him so much more. After studying together for almost three weeks he pulled me to the side and told me that he fancied me. I was ecstatic at the news. We started dating right after that. The day before he died, we had actually said 'I love you' to each other for the first time. I never thought he would be gone so soon…" She drifts off as tears drop from her eyes. I move over to the seat she is on and sit down.

I wrap my arms around her shoulders and give her a hug. "Shit Tori, I'm so sorry. I had no idea… I miss him a lot. I can only imagine how much you miss him. I'm just… so sorry…" I can feel warm tears rolling down my face so I grab my things and excuse myself from her compartment.

I find an empty compartment and put my things away. I shut the door and sit down by the window. I pull my legs up onto the seat and wrap my arms around them. I lean my head against the window and look outside. We are still sitting at Hogwarts waiting for people to finish boarding. I let my mind wander as I try to stop myself from crying. _I HATE crying!_

If I hadn't gone out to that clearing, Carter would still be alive. He would still be with Astoria. Astoria wouldn't be crying in her compartment over her dead boyfriend. We would all be sitting in this booth. We would be talking about our plans for the summer and how we would visit and write all the time. I would be planning how to convince Harry to let Carter move in with us. Carter and I would spend the entire summer exploring with Tori and James and Al.

But that's not what's happening now. This was entirely my fault… I am the reason Carter is dead… Why had I thought I could save Al? Why didn't I just accept the dream as just that? A dream. I shouldn't just be thanking Freddie, Bella, Rachelle and James. I should be apologizing to them too. What if Freddie had been killed out there? That would have affected both Bella AND James. _I am a terrible person…_

I hear the compartment door open and shut. I wipe the stupid tears off my face and say "This compartment is taken."

The person chuckles and puts their stuff away. "Well I'm not going anywhere."

I sigh. "Hey James."

He sits down across from me. "What, no 'Jamie' today?"

"I didn't think you liked being called that."

"I like when **you **call me that…" He says quietly.

I look at him curiously. Before I can ask him about his comment he changes the subject. "It's been a pretty crazy year, huh?"

I laugh. "Understatement of the year! But, oddly enough, I can't wait to come back next year."

The train blows its horn and lurches forward. Hogwarts slowly fades into the distance as we pull away from the station.

He smiles. Then he gets up and sits next to me. "You really are mental, aren't you?"

I smile crookedly at him. "I have to be. I'm friends with you aren't I?"

He smiles again and tells me to get up. I stand up. "What are you doing?" He grabs my wrist and pulls me back down onto his lap. He wraps his arms around my waist so I lean back and pull my legs up. His tone gets serious. "What made you go to the forest the other night?"

"I, uh… I had a dream that Carter's dad was torturing Al in the forest. He told me I could save him if I went to the forest alone, so I did." I let out a ragged sigh and look back out the window.

"Wait, let me get this straight. You went into the forest to save my brother?"

I roll my eyes and continue to look out the window. "Yea, I know. It was stupid of me and I shouldn't have done it… I just-"

He puts his hand over my mouth and turns my head so I'm looking at him. "Okay, yes. It was incredibly stupid of you to go ALONE. But it was incredibly brave of you to go out there to save him. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for my brother. Not many people are willing to do that for people in their own family, let alone people in someone else's family." He drops his hand from my mouth and smirks.

I look at him, confused. I had expected him to do what everyone else has done. I expected him to tell me I was incredibly stupid and I shouldn't have done it. I thought he was going ask me to think about what would happen if Caledon had killed me. "Wait, what?"

He continues to smirk. "But I guess I could expect that from someone who 'likes me. A lot.' huh?"

My eyes widen and my face drops. _Shit… I really DID tell him that… I was hoping that was just a dream… SHIT!_ I can feel the heat rising in my face so I turn away and look out the window. I realize that I am still on his lap so I stand up to go sit on the seat across from us. He grabs my hand and spins me around.

He is standing behind me with a gentle smile on his face. He pulls my hand toward him and wraps me in a hug. "I'm really sorry about Carter. I know how much you loved him."

I scoff into his chest. "He was like a brother to me. I feel like yet ANOTHER one of my family members has died. I feel like there is a hole in my chest that won't ever be filled… Like every time it starts to fill, something happens to completely empty it again."

"Well maybe **I**…" he lets me out of the hug. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear and grabs my face gently. "…can help with that."

He leans down and kisses me softly. I feel like my hands are dangling uselessly by my side so I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. He stops the kiss and leans back up, a smirk on his face.

"So… what about that girl you like?" I ask him. I was confused before but this kiss just made things so much more confusing.

"Ariana, it's you…" he chuckles lightly. "It's always been you."

I smile. "Oh. Well in that case…" I grab the collar of his shirt and pull him back down for another kiss.

This kiss isn't as soft as the last one. This kiss feels like, in a way, we are trying to make up for lost time. There is more passion in this kiss this time. His arms are around my waist, pulling me close while my hands have moved from his shirt collar to behind his head. His tongue begins to trace my lips and I willingly part them.

Just then there is a knock on the compartment door. We quickly separate and look at the door.

"Hello children! Keeping busy, I see." Freddie says with a smirk. He and Bella walk in holding hands.

I let out a laugh and give him a hug. "Hey Freddie. I'm really sorry about what happened in the forest." I turn to Bella and give her a hug too. "Sorry to you too Bells. You two shouldn't have had to get involved. I shouldn't have even gone out there. I'm so sor-"

James laughs and grabs my hand. "Nobody blames you Ari. Please stop beating yourself up about it."

I nod. He tugs at my hand and leads me back to the seat. We sit down and I lay my head on his shoulder. He kisses me on the forehead and wraps his arm around me. I look over to Bella. "Did you know Tori was dating Carter?" I feel James' grip tight s bit at the mention of his name.

She looks at me with wide eyes. "No! How do you know?"

"She told me today. She is really shaken up about his… his death too. She said they were together for almost three months."

She gets up. "I'm going to go talk to her." I nod to her and she leaves.

Freddie looks at us and smiles while gesturing between me and James. "So when did THIS happen?"

I giggle and James smiles. "About thirty seconds before you showed up, mate."

Freddie laughs. "Well don't mind me! I'm going to go visit Al, Lorcan and Lysander." With that he gets up and exits the compartment.

I sit up and look at James. "So what are we going to do this summer?"

He winks "We are going to have loads of fun. It's going to start with us telling them about my new **girlfriend**, then who knows where it will go."

"I never agreed to that!" I say with a smirk and a wink.

He looks at me with worry. "The girlfriend thing or telling my parents?"

I smirk again. "I guess we can tell your parents about your new girlfriend… But you should probably introduce me to her first."

"Oh clever… This should be a fun summer." He pulls me in for another kiss. I close my eyes and smile. I may not be completely over everything, but this was a good start to getting there. I am very excited for what next year will bring. And I can't wait to face Caledon again. My promise to Carter runs through my mind again.

_Carter laughs angrily. "One little problem. You requested the life of my best friend. I wouldn't give her up to anyone. She's plays a very important role in your demise, and I wouldn't want to rob her of that joy by giving her to you." He looks over to me. "Ariana, promise me you will beat this asshole."_

_I nod my head and quietly say "I promise Carter."_

The next time I face Caledon, I will be ready. I will avenge my mother, my father, and Carter. I will kill him.


End file.
